What is the NHS Volunteering Scheme and How Can I Help?

The Coronavirus pandemic has touched all of us in one way or another, and as well as the well-publicised scenes of panic buying and empty shelves there have also been huge acts of kindness and altruism. The NHS volunteering scheme is a great example of the manner in which people have pulled together during a truly unprecedented time.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock is looking for 250,000 volunteers in order to help the most vulnerable who are shielding themselves from the virus by self-isolating, totaling around 1.5 million individuals.

After a single day of online registration being available, Hancock’s target had been met – with a quarter of a million volunteers in under 24 hours which shows how keen the country is to band together and help one another.

Volunteers will be key in order to keep the NHS from becoming overcrowded and overworked, as they enable the most vulnerable to stay out of harm’s way.

Example volunteer tasks will include tasks such as;

Delivering medicines from pharmacies

Driving patients to appointments

Taking them home from hospital

Making regular phone calls to check on people isolating at home

If you would like to sign up to be an NHS volunteer, you can do so by visiting https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHS