June 1-7 is National Volunteers Week and it is the prefect chance for us to celebrate the contributions of our volunteers and to say Thank You. 

The work that we do at Healthwatch depends heavily on our volunteers to help support us. From supporting stalls or drop in events, helping to represent us at community events, or supporting our Enter and View programme, our volunteers are always there.

A key role our volunteers are involved in is our Enter and View programme. This is our statutory duty to observe health and social care services being delivered and engage with the people using and delivering the service. Reports are written and recommendations made to support the improvement of experience received by the service users and to share best practice. Without volunteers we would not be able to fulfil this important area of work. Through their recommendations our volunteers have been able to influence services across Wolverhampton resulting in a range of actions taking place including services including the recommendations in their departmental action plans for improvement. 

Another role where volunteers are involved is our Healthwatch Advisory Board. They help to support the strategic aims of Healthwatch and advise us on our annual work plans and support with the Annual Report. They also strategic meetings with us or on our behalf to ensure that the voice of service users is heard at all levels and is always on the agenda. 

Throughout the week we will be sharing examples of how our volunteers have made a difference, their experiences of volunteering with us and how our staff team have been volunteering under these extraordinary times. 

On Monday we surprised each of our volunteers with a care package which was personally delivered by our manager and volunteer co-ordinator to them. They really appreciated this gesture of thanks.

On Friday 5 June we will be hosting a virtual Volunteer coffee morning from 11am to 12.30pm, and we are inviting anyone that may be interested in volunteering with us to join in. Information about how to take part can be found on our website.

Tracy Cresswell, Healthwatch Manager said:

“Everyone at Healthwatch would like to thank all our volunteers, both past and present, for their contributions and their dedication to ensuring the people who use health and social care services voices are heard. It would not be possible for us to do our work without your support. We hope you enjoyed the surprise that we arranged for you and we look forward to seeing you all again soon.

If anyone is interested in volunteering with us, we have a volunteering section on our website with more information about how you can get involved as well as a registration form. We would encourage you to register your interest and you too can help make a difference to local services.”

More information about volunteering and how our volunteers have made a difference can be found on our website www.healthwatchwolverhampton.co.uk or you can call us to register your interest at 0800 470 1944.