Volunteering safety
Ensuring the safety of all our volunteers, patients, visitors and staff is our top priority. We do this in a number of ways for the diversity of people in our care.
- DBS and OH checks
- Supervision
- Health and Safety compliance
- Risk assessments
We carry out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks on all our staff members and individual volunteers over the age of 16, as well as any adults working with or supervising our young volunteers. For your safety and the safety of our patients, we also carry out an Occupational Health (OH) screening. This may take the form of a self-certification or may be done by our external OH check provider, PAM Group.
Our Trust-wide Health and Safety Policy helps us to ensure that you have a safe working environment. CCTV and security arrangements at both hospital locations further ensure your safety when in public areas. Before you start with us, you will receive an induction and training appropriate to your job role and length of commitment.
All of our job roles are risk assessed and special consideration is given to whether there are any additional or different risks for young volunteers, and whether any aspect of a role may need adjusting for people with disabilities.
We try to ensure that you are placed in a role (or roles) appropriate to your personality and resilience. However, working in a hospital setting can involve witnessing distressing situations at times. Our induction process includes information about how to access support while at work, should you require it.