Volunteer Strategy2018 to 2021

www.kentcht.nhs.uk

Contents

● Welcome ...................................................................................... 3 ● Why volunteer ............................................................................. 4 ● Where we are now ...................................................................... 6 ● Where do we want to be .......................................................... 11 ● Our goals .................................................................................... 11 ● Goal 1 ......................................................................................... 12 ● Goal 2 ......................................................................................... 14 ● Goal 3 ......................................................................................... 16 ● Monitoring and conclusion ....................................................... 18 ● Appendix 1: Roles and description ........................................... 19 ● Appendix 2: Year one action plan ............................................ 24

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Our army of 500-plus volunteers have played a key role in the day-to-day life of our trust for many years.

I have seen for myself, the incredible impact that our volunteers can have on our patients, their families and our staff, and I am extremely grateful for the contribution they make.

Our vision is a community that supports each other to live well – and our volunteers are integral to this. So, I am delighted to launch our first Volunteer Strategy. We hope this three-year strategy will help to build our reputation as the best place to volunteer in the NHS in Kent.

It sets out commitment to recruit, involve and develop excellent and committed individuals seeking to invest time and talent for the benefit of our patients, clients, colleagues, services and our community.

Volunteers can improve the experience of care, strengthen relations between services and communities and improve public health.

In 2016/17, our 500-plus volunteers contributed more than 36,000 hours supporting our patients, carers and staff. These included a huge variety of roles from volunteers who help in our hospital garden makeovers to befrienders and our many League of Friends, which support our community hospitals. However, it is estimated there are around 300 different volunteering activities in the NHS, so we know there are more opportunities we can provide.

I hope this strategy will help us to gain a better understanding of the role, size, scope and value of volunteering at our trust. It will help us to develop best practice in managing volunteers and deliver a personally rewarding experience for every volunteer.

In line with our values – compassionate, aspirational, responsive and excellent – we care. So, our promise to our volunteers is that no matter who you are, where you have come from or what your motivations are for volunteering, you will be treated with respect, if you join our team.

We also promise that every person who volunteers with us gets the support they need to fulfil their role. We will recognise the contribution they make and ensure they feel valued.

I would like to thank every volunteer for all you do for our patients.

Welcome

Paul Bentley, Chief Executive

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Volunteers make a unique and valuable contribution to patients, carers, visitors and staff at Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT).

As well as having a positive impact on healthcare services and the volunteer, volunteering is widely recognised as a powerful tool for promoting healthy communities.

Along with those who work for the trust, volunteers are an essential resource in helping us achieve our mission, vision and our goals.

Volunteers add value to our services and help enhance the experience our patients have. They should never be used to replace the roles of paid staff. Volunteering can help to:

● improve quality of life: The Royal Voluntary Service, in May 2012, found volunteering in later life decreased depression and social isolation and boosted her quality of life.

● improve an individual’s ability to cope with ill health: Volunteering can help people come to terms with their illness and take their mind off their own problems.

● lead a healthier life: Smokers who volunteer in stop-smoking services, often give up and students who binge-drink, drink less when volunteering.

● improve mental health: Volunteering helps people to improve self-esteem and gives a sense of purpose. This can be vital for older volunteers and people who might be isolated or not integrated into society.

Why volunteer?

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RolesThere are 37 different types of volunteer roles in the trust, see appendix one for a list and description. Many are patient-focused and based in community hospitals. These include:

● volunteers who assist with mealtimes ● ward exercise rehabilitation ● ward trolley rounds ● reception and admin support ● hospital shops ● governors.

We also have:

Patient and public representatives as part of our active Patient Engagement Network (PEN)

This is a group of 71 public and patient representatives. To join they must have been a:

● patient of ours ● unpaid carers of someone using our services ● close family member of someone using our services ● voluntary and community sector organisation with an interest in health.

The network supports us by helping with:

● interviewing staff ● surveys and inspections ● staff training like emergency exercises or conferences by sharing patients’ stories

● proof reading documents or feed back on campaigns ● committees or working groups, such as community hospital patient experience groups or medicines management governance group.

Harry’s story:Harry Bodle-Jones, a student at North Kent College in Dartford, is studying level three health and social care, as he works towards his goal of studying paramedic science at university.

Harry, 16, has been volunteering at Gravesham Minor Injury Unit, run by KCHFT. In that time, he has provided administrative support to staff, including helping visitors and carers to complete feedback.

Harry said: “I am learning more than I ever thought I would, not least how brilliant individuals come together in difficult situations to show kindness, compassion and exceptional clinical skill as a team.

“I can honestly say I have enjoyed every minute I have given to the unit and I would strongly recommend volunteering for the NHS.’’

Where we are now

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Hours and flexibility Volunteers should not be required to carry out duties so essential to patient safety or service delivery, that without them, the service would be severely disrupted and patient safety impacted.

On average, each volunteer contributes at least one-and-half hours a week, in their chosen role, but many have multiple roles and deputise to cover additional hours and days for holidays and sickness. Some roles are flexible to suit as some are still in employment.

DiversityWe have limited equality monitoring data about our volunteers. In the past, we captured gender and age – two of the nine protected characteristics. The majority of our volunteers are white British women, aged 60 and over. There is an opportunity for us to involve younger volunteers as our potential future employees. Many under 25s use volunteering opportunities to gain experience and knowledge of the NHS before attending further education or university.

Where do we want to be?Our vision is a community that supports each other to live well.

Our mission is to empower adults and children to live well, to best the best employer for our people and to work with our partners as one.

We see our volunteers as a vital part of helping us to achieve our mission and vision, as well as our goals to:

1. prevent ill health: by volunteering with our health and wellbeing and

rehabilitation services and by becoming more aware about their own health and wellbeing, and the services available to support them

2. deliver high-quality care at home and in the community:

by investing time, talent and commitment on a voluntary basis for the benefit of their local health services and community

by supporting teams and staff to deliver services, gathering patient feedback, and making it easier for staff to do their job

Expert Patients Programme (EPP)

This is run by a team of volunteer tutors who provide a free, six-week course to help patients regain confidence and take control of their health. The volunteers, who all live with chronic pain conditions, help patients through relaxation techniques and they give advice on coping with depression, stress and anxiety.

Cardiac rehabilitation, health walks and other health improvement services

Volunteers welcome new clients to the rehabilitation programme and help physiotherapists with exercise/education sessions. They also set up equipment and prepare refreshments for patients. Health Walks volunteers lead organised strolls on a weekly or monthly basis.

Hospital shops and league of friends

Leagues of friends run coffee shops in hospitals in Deal, Edenbridge, Gravesham, Hawkhurst, Herne Bay, Sevenoaks and Tonbridge.

We also have two shops in Sittingbourne and Sheppey with a fuller list of confectionery, sandwiches, a variety of hot and cold drinks, newspapers, magazines, books, birthday cards and postage stamps. The shop in Sittingbourne is staffed on average by 36 volunteers and in Sheppey by about 20 volunteers.

The profit is put into the running the shops.

Sharon’s story:Sharon Seymour is an art and activities volunteer at Hawkhurst Community Hospital. This involves designing an art project suitable for all patients using collage, mixed media and painting. The inspiration of the project was choosing a theme of Kent to work on as a group picture, alongside volunteers Carole Streeter and Janet Pelham. Sharon said: Working as a volunteer artist in residence at Hawkhurst has been rewarding for myself and hopefully for the patients too.

Governors

The trust’s Council of Governors represents the interests of our members and wider public when it comes to having a say about development in community services. Governors give their time freely to make sure the public and our staff have a voice and hold the trust to account.

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Anthea’s story:I have now been a volunteer at Sevenoaks Hospital for more than five years. I still look forward to Tuesdays as much as ever. Most of the patients are elderly, but despite their problems, some of which are really serious, they are cheerful and a wonderful example of how to cope with our own advancing years.

On Tuesdays, I arrive just as the doctor is finishing his rounds. I visit the two wards seeing which of my patients have been discharged and introduce myself to any newcomers, making sure they are comfortable and they are drinking plenty of water, practising their physiotherapy exercises and generally getting to know a bit about them and hear their stories.

Each ward is deep cleaned on Tuesdays and the patients are evacuated to the day room for the morning. If they are a lively group, we will do a quiz together, have a sing song or get a discussion going, hopefully including lots of laughter. It all helps to build friendships and pass the time.

Most patients are pleasantly surprised by the wonderful meals that are provided by our great, on the premises chef. At lunchtime, I help where I am needed and then, if I am quick, complete the following day’s menus with each patient before they fall asleep for their afternoon nap. For those who will not have a visitor that day, they might like help with a jigsaw or have a game of Connect 4 or Scrabble.

One of my duties is to complete an iPad Meridian questionnaire with patients who are ready to be discharged. My IT skills are just about adequate for this task. The answers show up areas which can be improved on and are taken seriously by the matron. In almost every case, however, the staff cannot be praised highly enough – they do a wonderful job.

How we value our volunteers All volunteers are invited to ‘thank you’ events. There is also a Volunteer Award at our annual staff awards celebration. Volunteers are included in departmental/service meetings and social events.

National Volunteers’ Week is held in June. Voluntary services highlight this with promotional displays across community hospitals and have volunteers on hand promoting the benefits of being involved.

Volunteers are kept-up-to-date via the trust’s Community Health magazine, as well as a quarterly newsletter, which is emailed and printed.

Recruitment Recruitment processes include interviews, reference checks, Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) checks, where appropriate, together with mandatory training.

In October 2017, we updated our volunteer handbook and all volunteers are given an induction by one of the volunteer service managers and a local induction at their base.

We also offer volunteers training, where appropriate, in areas such as dementia awareness, equality and diversity, staff recruitment and meal-time assistance.

Volunteers are encouraged to attend training or awareness sessions available to promote their knowledge and understanding of the service and their part in the patient experience.

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How are you

today?

95% of volunteers would recommend the trust as a place for their friends and family to get treatment.

93% of volunteers felt supported in their role as a volunteer with the trust.

98%...

...of volunteers would recommend the trust as a place to volunteer.

100% of our volunteers say our staff treat them with kindness and respect.

100% of volunteers who

responded said they feel valued as volunteer by patients, staff

and the trust.

97% said the application process to become a volunteer was straight-forward and easy.

Reap what you sow

Our volunteer survey results 2017

Retention rates for volunteers is usually four to five years, with some volunteers assisting with patient experience groups and other engagement activities.

Funding and resource The trust employs two volunteer service managers (VSMs) who provide the day-to-day recruitment, training and support.

There is a set budget for expenses and all volunteers are entitled to claim travel expenses to and from their home to place of volunteering.

We may need more resource in the future, if the number of volunteers significantly grows. This will need to be monitored. There could be the potential for volunteers to provide some of the administration support to manage volunteer service to offset this.

What our volunteers sayIn 2017, we carried out the first survey of our volunteers, however the number of responses were small. We will aim for a 50 per cent response rate from future surveys.

“I enjoy volunteering for the NHS. The staff are really friendly and it is nice to chat to the patients and, with my PAT dog, they seem to start chatting about their animals that they have had in the past, or those that they have at home, that they are missing while in hospital.”

“I help put a smile on everyone’s face as they come into outpatients.”

“Just by having the time to sit and talk to the patients, is beneficial.”

“I think I get as much from volunteering as the staff and patients get.”

“We give time to listen, refreshments if patients would like it and hopefully make their hospital visit more pleasant.”

“I have raised funds by volunteering and I know that some of the equipment purchased has improved life for patients and staff.”

What our volunteers say:

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Our vision is a community that supports each other to live well.

Our mission is to empower adults and children to live well, to be the best employer for our people and to work with our partners as one.

We see our volunteers as a vital part of helping us to achieve our mission and vision, as well as our goals to:

1. prevent ill health: – by volunteering with our health and wellbeing and rehabilitation services and by becoming more aware about their own health and wellbeing, and the services available to support them

2. deliver high-quality care at home and in the community: – by investing time, talent and commitment on a voluntary basis for the benefit of their local health services and community

– by supporting teams and staff to deliver services, gathering patient feedback and making it easier for staff to do their job

3. integrate services – by helping to signpost patients to community and voluntary groups to help their physical and mental health, where appropriate

4. develop sustainable services – by investing time, talent and commitment on a voluntary basis for the benefit of their local health services, our colleagues and community.

The strategy also links to our social value strategy and our commitment to deliver a personally rewarding experience for every volunteer. It provides the local community with the opportunity to contribute their experience, knowledge and skills, giving something back to society.

To help achieve KCHFT’s mission, vision and goals, we have developed three high-level goals for our Volunteer Service to:

Where do we want to be?

Our goals

● to increase the number of volunteers in key services where volunteers are able to enhance patient experience (trust goals 2, 3 and 4)

● support, train, engage and retain our volunteers to develop them and enhance both their quality of life and the lives of our patients and their families (trust goals 1,2 and 4)

● to establish a reputation for excellence in volunteering and explore partnership roles to ensure we achieve a more diverse pool of volunteers who better reflect our population (trust goals 2, 3 and 4).

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GOAL 1:

To increase the number of volunteers in key services where they can enhance patient experience (strategic goals 2, 3 and 4)

Greatest needWe will establish a more accurate picture about the number and diversity of volunteers and the types of volunteering roles.

From 1 April 2018, we will have an up-to-date database of all volunteers, their roles, diversity and hours mapped against each service.

This will help to improve the system for systematically identifying volunteering needs across the trust. It will help us to target recruitment to increase the presence of volunteers where there is a need and they can add value.

Expanding roles Our community hospitals, in particular, are well supported by volunteers. But we want to increase the number of volunteers supporting other community-based services.

Meet and greet roles

One of the roles we would like to expand is having more meet and greeters in the trust.

These are volunteers who are trained in customer care who will support the patient/carer journey from the moment they arrive at the clinic or minor injury unit, for example, to when they go into see the clinician. They will also support the patient/family after they leave the clinic room until they leave the premises.

In line with the Eight Step Change for Excellence in Volunteering, we want to increase the number of volunteers in services where they can best support the experience of our staff and our patients.

We will achieve this by: ● identifying and targeting services where there is the greatest need for volunteers and filling vacancies

● increasing the number of volunteers who provide key roles like ‘meet and greet’ and dementia volunteers

● scoping, piloting and developing new volunteering roles, for example, for the trust’s charity i care and mystery shoppers

● recruiting volunteers for new services or geographies ● increasing the number of volunteering hours.

Measuring successWe will measure our success by:

● an increase in the number of volunteers and range of roles – target: we recruit volunteers for all new service areas identified, increase range and number year on year.

● recruit to fill 100 per cent of volunteer vacancies ● an increase in the number of volunteers who provide meet and greet roles ● an increase in the number of volunteers who support patient and public engagement, for example mystery shoppers

● appointment of volunteers to support work with our charity i care ● campaign metrics ● seeking feedback from our staff on the difference that volunteers make to patient experience – target: 85 per cent of staff who respond feel volunteers make a difference

● using existing sources of patient experience monitoring, such as compliments, complaints and Friends and Family Test, to assess impact of volunteers

● two per cent year-on-year increase in volunteering hours.

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Activities include:

● welcoming the patient/carer when they arrive

● checking the patient is at the right clinic/appointment time

● making sure they are comfortable while they wait – and they know where the toilets/drinking water are

● checking they go into the clinic room when called – in particular that patients with hearing/sight issues are assisted to get into the clinic room

● checking they are ok when they leave the clinic room and can safely leave – includes making sure patients waiting for transport are comfortable.

Dementia volunteers

We already have a number of ward volunteers who chat to patients and provide an in-hospital befriending service. Our wards support older people with complex conditions, such as dementia, which is increasingly challenging. All volunteers will be offered training to become a Dementia Friend, but we also propose providing volunteers with enhanced training to help provide better support to patients with dementia and staff supporting them.

New roles i care fundraisers and support workers

In 2016, we launched our charity i care to raise money for things over and above what the NHS pays for.

For example, this has included funding a sensory room for children with disabilities

in Coxheath, bed sensors to reduce the risk of patients falling in hospital and also equipment to support patients with dementia in our hospitals.

We want to develop roles for volunteers to support our fundraising, as well as take on temporary roles as fundraisers, for example by doing a sponsored run, cake sale or quiz. By increasing the opportunities for informal volunteering, we will make it easier for a more diverse range of people to volunteer for us.

Mystery shopper roles

While we have volunteers in our Patient Engagement Network, we want to introduce mystery shopper type roles so we can gain insight into how we can improve the non-clinical part of patient experience.

This would cover aspects that are not covered by our PLACE inspection process and go beyond the community hospital environment to look at services delivered in clinic settings.

It would involve attending or ringing a clinic or out-patient department as a mystery shopper and reporting back on how easy it is to find out about a service, what happened when they arrived, for example, were they met by someone on reception, if all their questions were answered and if the waiting area met their needs. This would use the 15 Step Challenge widely used in the NHS.

This information would be fedback to the patient experience group to look at trends and to the head of service.

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GOAL 2:

We aim to support, train, engage and retain volunteers so they have a positive experience of volunteering with us (strategic goals 1,2, 4)

Quality information and updates We will improve the quality of information given to all volunteers by developing a standard welcome pack and other supporting materials.

All volunteers will have accurate and up-to-date role descriptions.

The introduction of a database for volunteers will help us improve communication with our volunteers, monitor our success and target communication more effectively.

Training opportunities All volunteers are provided with an induction and training relevant to their volunteering role. We would like to develop a standard induction for all volunteers.

Volunteers will also be offered the chance to become a Dementia Friend. Volunteers will be given dementia awareness training in ward and patient-facing areas. They will liaise with the dementia link nurses to provide structured dementia centred activities on the ward. Volunteers will contribute to planning activities with ongoing training and development workshops.

Volunteer feedbackWe will carry out an annual volunteer survey to understand the experience of our volunteers.

We will achieve this by: ● providing a range of high-quality information about their role, what is expected of them and where they can find out more

● providing regular updates to volunteers on the trust and the added value their volunteering brings

● offering training opportunities that develop our volunteers ● acting upon volunteer feedback to improve their volunteering experience and satisfaction

● supporting staff to effectively involve volunteers ● developing a reward and recognition scheme for volunteers.

Measuring successWe will measure our success by:

● a survey to get feedback from volunteers about if they feel valued, supported and have enough information to support them in their role – target: 95 per cent feel valued, 95 per cent would recommend the trust as a place to volunteer

● increase in number of volunteers who feel they know about services on offer to support their health and wellbeing, via survey

● increase in number of volunteers who say volunteering has helped to improve their wellbeing, via survey

● attaining REVAMP accreditation for our volunteer management ● launching reward scheme and having a number of awards and recognition events

● increase in number of volunteers who take part in training.

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In 2017, we established a baseline for the volunteering experience. We will aim to sustain this and improve wherever possible:

We aim for:

● 98 per cent of volunteers would recommend the trust as a place to volunteer

● 98 per cent of volunteers would recommend the trust as a place for their family and friends to receive care

● 95 per cent of volunteers feel they are valued by the trust

● 95 per cent of volunteers have undertaken the necessary training

● 95 per cent of volunteers feel confident to fulfil their roles

● 95 per cent of volunteers achieve their personal goals through volunteering

● 95 per cent of volunteers feel fully supported through the application process

● 98 per cent of volunteers feel supported by the volunteer services managers.

We will track and monitor our planned increases in volunteers, volunteering hours and the range of roles.

Supporting staffAll staff who supervise volunteers will be provided with guidance on best practice in volunteer management. This will consist of a top tips guide to volunteer management and a workspace on flo for staff who work with volunteers. They will be supported by our volunteer service managers.

We will include reference to the role of volunteers in corporate induction for paid staff and in the local induction checklist, so staff understand our commitment to volunteering and what they need to do. We will ask staff what impact volunteers have had on their ward/service area via an annual survey.

Reward and recognition We will show our volunteers how much they are valued by developing a recognition scheme. This will include categories such as young volunteer of the year and long service certificates. Nominations will be made by staff and judged by a panel that includes a voluntary sector representative, the Board volunteer champion and the head of engagement.

This will expand on KCHFT Herograms, certificates, staff awards and annual thank you events.

Revamp accreditation We will apply for REVAMP (Recognition of Excellent Volunteer and Management Practice) accreditation. Revamp is a quality mark for volunteer involving organisations, which has been developed by volunteer centres in Kent. Once awarded, it lasts for two years. It offers KCHFT a great opportunity to reflect on our volunteering policies and practice. It shows our organisation offers meaningful and well-supported opportunities to potential volunteers.

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We will achieve this by: ● communicating the quality and impact of volunteering at KCHFT and the difference it makes

● making it easy to access volunteering opportunities at KCHFT

● increasing the volume and diversity of our volunteer team through targeted recruitment campaigns

● exploring partnerships to grow the volunteer base in health and social care.

Measuring successWe will measure our success by:

● campaign metrics – hits to website, enquiries, numbers of volunteers recruited

● volunteers reporting ease of access, through volunteer survey, and pop-up survey on website

● increased diversity of our volunteer team through quarterly monitoring

● increase in number of volunteers or roles developed through partnership working

● increase referral from KCHFT staff to Kent befriend services.

PromotionWe will develop a suite of print and digital marketing materials to promote volunteering within KCHFT and the difference it makes. Case studies will be used to illustrate the increase in social value of volunteering at KCHFT to staff, patients and stakeholders and where we have widened participation aligned to our local population.

Make it easy to access volunteeringOur public website already contains comprehensive pages on the roles available, FAQs, case studies and an enquiry form. We will continue to keep these up-to-date, as well as develop these pages. We will use digital communications, such as social media, to expand the reach of our communications.

We will make sure the roles we develop are flexible and look at the skills a volunteer can offer and how best we could use their experience. At the moment, we have some volunteers who would like to join us but there are not any available opportunities.

GOAL 3:

Establish a reputation for excellence in volunteering and explore partnership roles to ensure we achieve a more diverse pool of volunteers who better reflect our population (strategic goals 2,3 and 4)

Increasing diversity of our volunteersYoung people

Nationally, rates of formal volunteering among young people (16 to 25) have seen a steady increase. Younger people are the most likely age group to formally volunteer regularly and they spend more time volunteering. We will use targeted campaigns and partner with colleges and higher education institutes to encourage more young people to support us and develop pathways for younger people to volunteer. To volunteer in a clinical area, volunteers need to be over 18. We will also develop roles to support our i care charity to attract more young people to support us as fundraisers.

Older people

As a healthcare provider, we want to ensure we contribute to the wider health and wellbeing of our community. There is a great deal of evidence to show volunteering can help with social isolation and loneliness, especially in older people. We will develop roles to help tackle social isolation, for people who volunteer and those who they are helping by linking in with befriending services across Kent to sign-post people who will benefit from the service or from being a befriender.

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Hard to reach

People in higher social grades and with a higher level of education are more likely to get involved in most volunteer activities. Research shows black and minority ethnic (BME) people are more likely to get involved in informal volunteering activities than formal. We will develop informal volunteering opportunities and work with BME community organisations to promote volunteering opportunities.

Exploring partnerships As well as some of the examples already given, we will explore opportunities with our partners to increase opportunities for volunteers and the support they can provide.

Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Plan

As part of the Kent and Medway STP, the local care model for older people with long-term conditions has been developed. Through this new model, new roles for care navigators, case managers and peer supporters are being developed. A care navigator or a case manager will be health or social care professionals who will help to organise a patient’s care plan and bring together a wider group of people to support and help her. Peer supporters will usually be volunteers, with similar conditions or challenges to give the patient the support they need. They might also act as mediators.

Some of our volunteers already provide a sign-posting role by staffing information desks, but the new local care model provides opportunities for the role of peer supporters to be developed and recruited.

Home First – meet and greet

Through the Home First scheme, the NHS and social care in Kent is working more closely together to get more people home from hospital safely and sooner. Part of this involves commissioning and partnering with organisations, such as Age UK, to provide a meet and greet service for patients returning home from hospital. We will explore opportunities for volunteers to form part of a befriending scheme to help tackle social isolation among patients who are returning home from hospital and support sign-posting as part of the multi-disciplinary team.

Befriending services

There are befriending services across most of Kent, mainly for isolated older people, delivered by local organisations including Age UK, carers organisations, volunteer bureaux and community groups.

Most are specific to a geographical location such as Romney Marsh or client group, for example phone befriending for carers, or visits to people with dementia. Many operate under the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation quality mark.

Some receive funding from Kent County Council through a grant. However, KCC intends to stop grants and move to contracts. As a result, a number of befriending services are forming a Kent-wide consortium to tender for this work.

We will explore working with the consortium to help build in befriending to our care pathways. All befriending services employ paid staff to co-ordinate the scheme and recruit and train the volunteer befrienders. Most befriending services struggle to get referrals from NHS staff. We will support promotion of the befriending scheme to increase referrals from our staff.

Business, community and voluntary organisations

We will use local business and community networks to promote volunteer recruitment and create corporate fundraising and volunteering opportunities for local businesses.

A good example of where this has already worked well when Maidstone Lions supported with our charity i care to launch our sensory room in Maidstone.

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A Volunteering Strategy Task and Finish Group will monitor progress, ensure a full annual review takes place and is reported. The work of volunteering will report through the Patient Experience Group.

The action plan, provided at appendix two, covers the first year of the strategy and represents key activities that will transform the experience and impact of volunteering at KCHFT for patients, carers, visitors, staff and volunteers. It will be reviewed annually.

Some benchmarks need to be established to measure performance more accurately. These will be obtained once all volunteer data is added to the database.

This strategy will support us to recruit more volunteers, enhance their visibility, develop new volunteer roles and therefore improve patient experience.

It will be shared trust-wide with staff and volunteers and through delivering this strategy, KCHFT will become a place for individuals seeking to invest time, talent and commitment on a voluntary basis for the benefit of their local health services.

Monitoring Conclusion

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Appendix one: Role descriptions

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Appendix one: Role descriptionsTitle Description

1. Children’s Resource Centre therapy groups

• Participating in therapy group activities, interact with children as directed by staff. • Setting up and clearing up after therapy floor sessions and assisting parents to change their children

before and after hydrotherapy.

2. Administrative and clerical

• Assisting with general clerical and admin work where necessary for the team.• Shredding documents.• Sending out letters to patients.• Filing, archiving and photocopying.• Answering phone, if required.

3. Cardiac rehab therapy group • To welcome new clients to the rehabilitation programme and assist the physiotherapist with exercise/education sessions.

• Assist in setting up equipment and to help prepare drinks/refreshments for patients.

4. Car maintenance helper • To assist with refuelling of centre vehicles, tyre pressure checks and checking windscreen wash and oil.• To assist assessment centre staff with basic maintenance to all centre vehicles.

5. Meet and greet • To provide a positive meet and greet for clients and their carers/relatives when attending for a clinic appointment.• To administer the patient satisfaction survey following the clinic appointment via an iPad or advising other ways of

accessing this.

6. Patient activities • Assisting the staff with rehabilitation activities for patients, such as playing board games, bingo, art/craft sessions, therapy days, and reminiscence sessions.

• Spending time and encouraging patients with individual patients and groups

7. Handyman assistant • To assist with taking food trolley to unit. • General help and assistance with Handyman within secure environment, such as moving chairs or equipment deemed suitable

and directed by staff.

8. Imaging department • Assisting with general clerical work and liaising with patients/directing them to the Radiographer.

9. Ward visitor • Talking to patients and relatives. • Assisting staff serving refreshments. • Assisting the ward clerk and ward staff with clerical duties.

10. Phlebotomy • Answering the phone, booking appointments. • Directing patients. • Checking stock delivery and replenish stock on phlebotomists’ trolleys.

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Title Description

11. Minor injuries • Assisting with general clerical and admin work, where necessary, for the team. • Shredding, filing, photocopying and archiving. • Checking and putting away stock delivery. • Cleaning and pairing returned crutches.

12. Rehab exercise • Supporting occupational therapist and physiotherapist. • Encourage particular patients while sitting or lying down to complete their prescribed physiotherapy exercises. • Encourage identified patients to engage in other beneficial activities etc.

13. Hospital shop • Selling light refreshments and confectionery. • Providing and serving hot beverages. • Use of till/cash handling and cashing up daily. • Stocking up products and maintaining stock rotation. • Providing a trolley service to hospital ward.

14. Gardener/site facilities • Watering, weeding, planting and general maintenance of courtyard areas.• Sweep areas and pick up litter. To maintain a tidy, clean and presentable area outside the hospital.

15. Enquiry desk • Assist visitors with their general enquiries. • Provide directions and escort walking patients who require assistance to find their way throughout the hospital.• Distribute hearing aid batteries.

16. Ward trolley service • Sell goods from the hospital shop, cash handling, stock rotation. • Talking to patients and relatives.

17. Chaplaincy • To visit, listen, support and engage in conversation with patients when desired and to pray with patients, when appropriate, paying particular attention to patients without visitor.

• Communicate to chaplains any messages or requests from patients or relatives, when appropriate. • Provide assistance to patients resident in the hospital in order for them to attend the hospital chapel.

18. Pets as Therapy (PAT Dogs)

• Spend time with patients and to encourage interaction with PAT dog. All dogs must be registered PAT dogs proof of insurance and clearance must be provided.

19. Ward dining companion • Assist staff at mealtimes. • Help with patient hand washing, give out meals and assist on refreshments trolley. • Sit with patients while eating, offering encouragement and cutting up food. • Giving out menus to patients and help patients with their menu choices.

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Title Description

20. Ward dementia champion • Assisting the staff with activities especially designed for patients with dementia with a more structured programme, such as playing board games, art/craft sessions, quizzes and reminiscence sessions.

• Spending time with individual patients and groups.

21. Speech and language therapy • Assisting the staff with speech and language activities for patients, such as assisting speech and language therapist and speech and language therapy assistants with assessment and/or treatment of individual clients and groups.

22. Pulmonary rehabilitation • To support patients and staff attending the Pulmonary Rehab sessions or Maintenance Programme Sessions.• To assist the clinicians with exercise sessions by assisting in setting up equipment and packing away equipment at end

of sessions.

23. Falls service champion • This role is a signposting service to the general public to appropriate local services and to further support from the Team.

• To attend events and marketing opportunities to inform potential clients and professionals about the Service.

24. Patient experience/ Meridian surveys

• To complete patient satisfaction survey (Meridian) using iPad with patients on our clinical caseload.• This will mainly be by phone contact, but will require some face-to-face contact with patients in our Intermediate Care beds.

25. Physiotherapy • Assisting physiotherapists, where possible, in the department. • Providing refreshments to patients as required• Setting up of equipment for classes and assisting with group activities. • Tidying of stock cupboard and undertaking stock checks.

26. Kitchen and beverage • To assist with serving refreshments to patients on the wards• To ensure all patients receive their refreshments in appropriate drinking containers.• Help out in the kitchen with washing up and general duties.

27. Therapeutic care/ hand massage

• To provide therapeutic care to patients• Offering patients: hand and arm massage with cream, back and shoulder massage through clothing and a basic manicure,

if required.

28. Hairdresser • To shampoo/cut/style patients’ hair, ensuring discussion beforehand.• To ensure environment/room is prepared before each session with equipment/products available and appropriate for

individuals having their hair done.

29. Data Input • Data input of Meridian surveys and clinicians’ appointments. • Filing, photocopying, archiving.

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Title Description

30. Ward library trolley service • Take books around to the patients and exchange any books patients may already have. • Communicate and spend time with patients.

31. Outpatient department and reception

• To support the outpatients department, assisting at the reception, welcoming patients, ensuring they are waiting in the correct area.

• Support services with administration duties• Directing patients and clients to correct departments and waiting areas.

32. Sexual Health Service • Support in sexual health initiatives across east Kent. • To pro-actively promote a safe and relaxed atmosphere conducive to the aims of the service.• To maintain confidentiality at all times.

33. Balance and physiotherapy group

• Setting up equipment for classes and assisting with group activities. • Assisting physiotherapists wherever possible• Providing refreshments to patients as required during group activity.

34. Occupational therapy • Supporting occupational therapist to encourage particular patients while sitting or lying down to complete their prescribed therapeutic activities.

• Assist with therapeutic group work.

35. Public or patient engagement representative

These representatives help us by:• taking part in staff interviewing• taking part in surveys and inspections • helping with staff training like emergency exercises or conferences by sharing patients stories• helping proof read documents or feedback on campaigns• joining committees or working groups.

36. Youth forum member • Young people aged 14 to 19 will get involved with us by: Shadowing, interviewing, youth panels, youth proofing information, helping at events and attending events. They will do surveys, inspections and join groups.

37. Governors The Council of Governors’ members have three key roles:• Ambassadors – representing members and the public• Advisors – making sure the trust seeks the views of the public to inform its plans• Guardians – guarding the public interest through constructive challenge.

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Appendix two: Year one action planHigh level goal Objective Tactics Timescale

2018Lead Budget Metric

GOAL ONE: To increase the number of volunteers in key services to enhance patient and staff experience

Identify which services would benefit the most from volunteers and have gaps.

Create a Kent-wide database via MES of all volunteers to map against services, identify gaps and enable better monitoring.

January to April 2018

Volunteer service managers

£200 Kent-wide database in place and kept up-to-date by 1 April 2018.

Bi-monthly reports to PEG

Run internal campaign to raise profile of volunteering and publicise launch of strategy – posters, flo mail, flo pages, team brief, promote at senior and team leaders conferences.

January to March 2018

Head of marketing/volunteer service managers

£200 Relevant campaign metrics: Read rate of bulletin, number of enquiries, page hits.

New materials and revamped pages on website, web page hits.

Increase number of volunteers who provide meet and greet roles by three per cent (0.8 per cent to four per cent.

Identify services which would benefit from meet and greet roles via e-bulletin.

By 30 November 2018

Volunteer service managers

N/A Number of meet and greeters increase from four to 20 .

Promote at senior and team leaders conferences.

March, May, Sep, Nov 2018

AD of comms N/A On agendas of two conferences Number of enquiries from services.

Article in Community Health magazine.

By 31 December 2018

Head of comms/ Head of engagement

N/A Number of responses/enquiries.

Promotion via social media. January, March, June and September 2019

Head of marketing N/A Click-throughs and likes Number of responses/enquiries.

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High level goal Objective Tactics Timescale 2018

Lead Budget Metric

To increase the number of volunteers in key services to enhance patient and staff experience

Increase number of dementia volunteers.

Develop role description for dementia volunteer.

March 2018 Head of engagement/volunteer service managers

N/A Role description in place.

Offer all current volunteers chance to become a Dementia Friend and deliver training.

March 2018 ongoing

Volunteer service managers and Engagement Manager (BB)

N/A 25 per cent of all volunteers are dementia friends in year one.

Run campaign to promote extra dementia training opportunities, for example via volunteer newsletter, email etc

September 2018 and ongoing

Volunteer service managers

N/A All volunteers offered extra training.

One dementia volunteer expert in every community hospital.

Recruit three mystery shopper volunteers.

Run a campaign to recruit mystery shoppers to get feedback about patients’ journey – promote via social media, Community Health magazine, members bulletin, stakeholder bulletin.

June to September 2018

Volunteer service managers/head of engagement

N/A 3 recruitedNumber of responses/enquiries.

Promote at senior and team leaders conferences.

May, March, Sep, Nov 2018

AD of comms N/A On agenda.

Develop mechanisms to ensure this feedback is taken to patient experience group and acted on.

March 2019 Volunteer service managers/head of engagement

N/A Case studies and examples used Service improvement examples available.

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High level goal Objective Tactics Timescale 2018

Lead Budget Metric

GOAL ONE: To increase the number of volunteers in key services to enhance patient and staff experience

Ensure we have volunteers for new services, where appropriate.

Run recruitment campaign in areas where we win new services.

As appropriate

Volunteer service managers

N/A Recruitment campaigns run 90 per cent of volunteer vacancies are filled within four months.

Recruit at least one i care charity volunteer for each locality of Kent

Develop volunteering roles for the trust’s charity i care.

May 2018 Volunteer service managers/head of marketing

N/A Number of packs distributedNumber of enquiries.

Design volunteer pack for i care charity, including role description for i care volunteers.

June 2018 Head of marketing £300 Packs completed and role descriptions in place.

Induction sessions for i care volunteers.

September 2018 to March 2019

Volunteer service managers/head of marketing

N/A Numbers attending.

At least three induction sessions held across Kent each year.

i care volunteers hold fundraising events.

April 2019 onwards

Head of marketing £500 At least five fundraising events by March 2020.

GOAL TWO: We aim to support, train, engage and retain volunteers so they have a positive experience of volunteering with us

Provide a range of high-quality information.

Standardise welcome packs for volunteers with a range of high-quality information about their role, what is expected and where they can find out more.

April 2019 Volunteer service managers/head of marketing

£300 One for every new volunteer.

Provide quarterly updates via newsletter to volunteers on the added value their volunteering brings.

January, April, July, October

Volunteer service managers

N/A Open rates and responses. Annual survey.

Target information and campaign to specific volunteers by using database.

Ongoing Volunteer service managers

N/A Response rate.

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High level goal Objective Tactics Timescale 2018

Lead Budget Metric

GOAL TWO: We aim to support, train, engage and retain volunteers so they have a positive experience of volunteering with us

Provide a range of training opportunities to develop our volunteers.

Standardise induction for all volunteers.

September 2018

Volunteer service managers

N/A Same induction run.

Induction sessions for icare volunteers.

September 2018 to March 2019

Volunteer service managers/head of marketing

N/A At least three induction sessions held across Kent.

Act on volunteer feedback to improve volunteering experience.

Carry out annual survey to get feedback from volunteers about feeling valued and whether they would recommend the trust as a place to volunteer.

Annually – 31 March 2019

Volunteer service managers/head of engagement

2017 Volunteer survey results, and annually after that.

At least 95 per cent of volunteers say they feel valued.

At least 95 per cent of volunteers would recommend the trust as a place to volunteer.

REVAMP accreditation Kent-wide.

March 2019 Volunteer service managers/head of engagement

N/A REVAMP accreditation Kent-wide.

Support staff to effectively involve volunteers.

Provide staff and managers with support and guidance on working with volunteers, such as top tips guide, checklist, access to training.

December 2017

Volunteer service managers/comms team

Guide produced

90 per cent positive feedback on guide.

Include reference to the role of volunteers in corporate induction for paid staff and in the local induction checklist.

December 2017

Learning and development

N/A 2018 Staff Survey: Local questions on volunteers and the benefit they bring.

Role of volunteers included in corporate induction and local induction.

Board to appoint a volunteers champion.

December 2017

Director of workforce, OD and communications

2018 Volunteer Survey:80 per cent of volunteers know who the Board champion is.

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High level goal Objective Tactics Timescale 2018

Lead Budget Metric

GOAL 3: Establish a reputation for excellence in volunteering and explore partnership roles to ensure we achieve a more diverse pool of volunteers who better reflect our population

Promote the quality and impact of volunteering at KCHFT.

Publish strategy on public website and promote via social media.

March 2018 Volunteer service managers/head of marketing

N/A Hits to website.

Increase the number of young people, aged 16 to 25, volunteering for us from two per cent to eight per cent.

Providing opportunities to fundraise for i care, such as sponsored fundraising

By 31 March 2019

Volunteer service managers

N/A Number of young people volunteering increased from 10 to 40.

Social media campaign to raise profile of range of volunteering roles for young people.

Starting March 2018 – March 2019

Head of marketing £150 Number of responses/enquiries.

Click-throughs and likes.

Mail out to KCHFT’s members, schools, colleges and young people’s services.

January 2018 Volunteer service managers/engagement manager/

N/A Number of responses/enquiries.

Increasing the volume and diversity of our volunteer team through targeted recruitment campaigns.

Media campaign to promote benefits of volunteering and the range of roles we offer.

January 2018 Head of marketing N/A Coverage in column inches Number of volunteers recruited Hits to volunteers web page.

Hold volunteer recruitment stands at events in key areas – services – to attend to talk about opportunities.

Starting Spring 2018

Volunteer service managers

N/A Number of exhibitors. New volunteers recruited.

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High level goal Objective Tactics Timescale 2018

Lead Budget Metric

GOAL 3: Establish a reputation for excellence in volunteering and explore partnership roles to ensure we achieve a more diverse pool of volunteers who better reflect our population.

Explore partnerships to grow the volunteer base in health and social care.

Promote opportunities for volunteers peer supporters if applicable.

March 2019 Volunteer service managers/assistant director of comms

N/A Number of volunteers in local care model.

Promote opportunities for volunteers as part of Home First model, as meet and greeter or befriender roles, if applicable.

March 2019 Volunteer service managers/assistant director of comms

N/A Number of volunteers in home first/befriender type roles.

Key:

Comms = Communications and Marketing TeamOD = Organisational DevelopmentKCHFT = Kent Community Health NHS Foundation TrustKPI = Key performance indicator (target)VSM = Volunteer services manager

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Registered charity no. 1139134

Donate today, and help the NHS go above and beyond. Visit www.kentcht.nhs.uk/icare

Our valuesCompassionate Aspirational Responsive Excellent

Leaflet code: 00000 Published: Sep 2017 Expires: Sep 2020 16

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18Produced by the Communications and Marketing Team

Do you have feedback about our health services?

Phone: 0300 123 1807, 8am to 5pm, Monday to FridayText: 07899 903499Email: kentchft.PALS@nhs.netWeb: www.kentcht.nhs.uk/PALS

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)Kent Community Health NHS Foundation TrustUnit J, Concept CourtShearway Business ParkFolkestoneKent CT19 4RJ

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