Volunteers

• Have you got an hour to spare?
• Got some untapped skills or knowledge?
• Fancy getting out of the house and meeting other people?

Then you are just what we are looking for in the Volunteers team at Whipps Cross.

No previous experience of Voluntary work is necessary – all that is required is enthusiasm, patience, reliability and your time.

Whipps Cross University Hospital could not function without the dedication and commitment of our Volunteers. The Volunteers in Partnership Scheme (VIP) has been running for a number of years at the Trust, with Volunteers turning their hands to a variety of tasks in different departments around the hospital.

Volunteering opportunities included administration work, running our mobile library service, serving tea and sandwiches, visiting wards, befriending patients, transporting patients, meeting and greeting and directing patients, visitors and staff all over the site.

Volunteering is not work experience. Similarly volunteers do not shadow doctors or work in laboratories.

We've got a variety of people involved from young students from the age of 17 years of age, eager to gain knowledge of the NHS, the long term unemployed needing the skills and confidence to get back into the work place, to the retired professionals who have a vast weatlh of knowledge and experience.

A commitment of six months of one day a week is necessary.

What do our volunteers do?

• Meeters and greeters
  Volunteers are situated in strategic areas of the hospital incorporating the main entrance, link bridge, Plane Tree Centre and Outpatients entrance. Volunteers help patients, visitors and staff with advice, hospital information and directions to various areas of the hospital.
• Buggy service
  This service was introduced to transport patients and visitors to and from areas of the hospital that are more accessible by road.
• Mobile tea and coffee service
  Tea and coffee is served free of charge from the trolley by Volunteers in Accident and Emergency, Medical Day Unit and Eye Treatment Centre and Outpatients.
• Mobile library service
  Books and magazines donated to the hospital are distributed via our mobile library service to various wards of the hospital on a weekly basis.
• Whipps Cross Hospital Radio
  A dedicated group of volunteers provide the hospital with a radio service that broadcasts to patients seven days a week from a basement studio. The work includes volunteers taking requests and messages from patients on the wards.
• Office volunteers
  Administration work covers a wide range such as filing, photocopying, reception, envelope stuffing, making up medical record files and computer data input and a wide variety of other tasks.
• Ward/Befriending service
  This involves spending time with nervous and anxious patients offering a chat and moral support. This is a particulary valuable service for the frail elderly patients with no immediate family support. Assisting staff at all mealtimes.

How can I find out more about becoming a volunteer?

To find out more, contact the Volunteers in Partnership scheme (VIP).  We are open Monday to Friday, 9.00am to 5.00pm.
You can:

• phone us on: 020 8535 6772 (Internal extension: 5615 or 6674). If no one is available, please leave a message on the answer phone and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
• Drop in and see us. Whipps Cross Volunteers in Partnership scheme is located at the main entrance, Junction 1.
• Write to us for a volunteer application pack at Volunteers in Partnership (VIP), Junction 1, Whipps Cross University Hospital, Whipps Cross Road, Leytonstone, E11 1NR

What happens when I make an enquiry about volunteering?

• When you make an enquiry about volunteering, we will ask for your contact details and send you a Volunteer Application Pack.
  This pack contains a covering letter, CRB (Criminal records Bureau) form, applicants guide, Occupational Health questionnaire and an application form.
• You need to send your completed form should be sent back to the Volunteers Office. Your CRB form and Occupational Health questionnaire will be sent to and processed by the appropriate departments.
• When we have notified of clearance of  your Occupational Health form, we will arrange an nformal interview between you and the Volunteer Manager.
• During the interview we will discuss why you hav chosen to volunteer, your interests and your availability.
  You will then have the opportunity to ask any questions and express any doubts and fears you may have regarding the post.
• We will also ask for two references and seek approval from the Trust, and will let you know if your application has been successful.
• Once you have CRB clearance you will be given a start date and time.
• You are now ready to start volunteering!
  Your induction process will include reading the Policy and Procedure manual. An ID badge and uniform will be supplied and all travel expenses will be reimbursed.
  To complete the induction, you will be given a guided tour of the hospial and introduced to your line manager of the department where you will be working.

For more information on how to find this location or how to get the hospital please look under our 'Where to find us section'.

• Click here to view location map of the hospital.
• Click here to view how to get here.