What volunteer roles are available?

There are many ways to help. However much time you are able to give, there will be a role to suit you. There are opportunities at the County Hospital site in Hereford, the community hospitals in Leominster, Bromyard and Ross-on-Wye, and also from home.

Usual volunteer hours are Monday to Friday, either in the morning or afternoon.  We do however, also have some weekend and evening roles available too.

The volunteer roles we are currently recruiting for are listed below.

Volunteer-Led Patient Contact Centre

This is an exciting new initiative to improve communication with patients.  

You will be part of a small team who will be contacting by telephone a carefully selected list of patients. The purpose of the calls will be varied and will depend on need and priorities within the hospital. Initially it will be reminding patients of their upcoming appointment, but it has the potential to support in other ways too. 

This role will benefit many of the departments within hospital. The calls you make will help to reduce waiting times, prevent delayed care and help make sure that the clinics are fully utilised. 

No specialist knowledge is required and you will be fully supported.  You will be based within the departments you are supporting at the county hospital site. 

Volunteer help is required every Monday to Friday for 2 to 3 hours.   

Meet and greet/wayfinders

This volunteer role is based in the main reception area of the county hospital. 

You will be the friendly face to welcome patients and visitors when they arrive and you will be there to help them find their way if they need help.  You will also help locate wheelchairs if required. 

You will be part of a small volunteer team and will be supported by the main reception staff. 

Ward support volunteer

This volunteer role will be based on one of the wards and you will be helping to make a patient’s stay as pleasant as possible.  You will spend a lot of your time chatting to patients, perhaps doing crossword puzzles, reading a newspaper or doing a jigsaw puzzle.  If required you can also make a patient a hot drink, keep their table clean and arrange any flowers they may have. 

This is a very rewarding role and you will be supported by the ward staff. 

Pharmacy runners 

In this role you will be securely delivering medications from Pharmacy to wards and clinics around the hospital. You will also be bringing requests from ward and clinic areas back to pharmacy. 

This helps to improve efficiency in the wards and clinics and has a positive impact on both the pharmacy team, patients and staff. 

This is a well-established, busy role based at the county hospital site. You will need to be active as it involves lots of walking around the hospital! 

Emergency Department volunteer

This volunteer role is in the Emergency Department at the County Hospital site.  At times it can be very busy, fast-paced and unpredictable. 

You will be based at the entrance to Emergency Department and will be there to help patients and visitors find their way to the correct area or department.  You will also ensure that wheelchairs are available should they be required.  

You will be supported by the reception team and you will assist both the reception and clinical teams in a variety of tasks to help with the smooth running of the Emergency Department. 

This role provides cover in the evenings and weekends as well as during the week. 

Macmillan Renton Unit information centre

As a volunteer in the Macmillan Renton Unit you will be assisting with cancer information and support.  You will welcome visitors to the centre and find out what information they are looking for.  With the support of staff, you will then help them access the information they need, which could be leaflets, books or online support.  You will also be there to listen and chat to those affected by cancer.

You will be fully supported by staff. 

Reader Panel (from home)

As a reader panel volunteer you will be reading and reviewing patient leaflets to help make them as user-friendly as possible.   You will be sent on average two leaflets every week or fortnight by email and you will send your feedback through via an online form.  

This volunteer role is home-based. 

Patient Voice

The Patient Engagement Forum is a group of volunteers who have an active interest in improving patient experience.  The group provides valuable feedback and opinions, from a patient and public perspective, on services provided by the hospital that help to shape improvements to the overall patient experience. 

Meetings take place monthly and you can join either online or in person at Hereford county hospital site.