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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/dec/06/massive-expansion-volunteers-health-care
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| We need a massive expansion of volunteers in public services | We need a massive expansion of volunteers in public services |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| More people would get involved in voluntary work if we threw open the doors of our hospitals and care homes and made it easier for them | |
| Wed 6 Dec 2017 08.00 GMT | |
| Last modified on Fri 8 Dec 2017 16.44 GMT | |
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| There is a good chance that the last time you or a relative visited a hospital, volunteers were helping to provide the services that you needed. Hopefully they made what can be a stressful experience easier or better. For some, the care and support of volunteers might also have led to an improved health outcome. From “expert patients” to volunteer drivers, befrienders to human satnavs, people giving their time to help others are the core of our health system, both past and present. | There is a good chance that the last time you or a relative visited a hospital, volunteers were helping to provide the services that you needed. Hopefully they made what can be a stressful experience easier or better. For some, the care and support of volunteers might also have led to an improved health outcome. From “expert patients” to volunteer drivers, befrienders to human satnavs, people giving their time to help others are the core of our health system, both past and present. |
| With an estimated 3 million volunteers supporting the overstretched health and social care system we need to change the question of “why are we relying upon unpaid volunteers?” to “why aren’t we getting more citizens involved in the NHS?” | With an estimated 3 million volunteers supporting the overstretched health and social care system we need to change the question of “why are we relying upon unpaid volunteers?” to “why aren’t we getting more citizens involved in the NHS?” |
| The relationship between voluntary action and the state is long and complicated, summarised by the British social economists Sidney and Beatrice Webb as a choice between the “parallel bars” of alternative providers or the “extension ladder” of partnership and integration. We seem to have arrived at both – and it is about time we recognised that it is only an expansion of citizen participation that can deliver the sort of services we want and need. We need nothing short of a massive expansion of volunteering in and around our public services and a much greater role for voluntary action in British society. And I think we will need that, whichever political party is in government during the coming decade. | The relationship between voluntary action and the state is long and complicated, summarised by the British social economists Sidney and Beatrice Webb as a choice between the “parallel bars” of alternative providers or the “extension ladder” of partnership and integration. We seem to have arrived at both – and it is about time we recognised that it is only an expansion of citizen participation that can deliver the sort of services we want and need. We need nothing short of a massive expansion of volunteering in and around our public services and a much greater role for voluntary action in British society. And I think we will need that, whichever political party is in government during the coming decade. |
| We have much already that we can build upon. One in four of us is already volunteering at least once a month. | We have much already that we can build upon. One in four of us is already volunteering at least once a month. |
| I think more people would get involved if we threw open the doors of our hospitals and care homes and made it easier for people to volunteer. We can kickstart this by giving people the right to a few days off work every year to volunteer. | I think more people would get involved if we threw open the doors of our hospitals and care homes and made it easier for people to volunteer. We can kickstart this by giving people the right to a few days off work every year to volunteer. |
| Properly integrating volunteering into our honours system would rightly reward those who spend their lives in the service of others. And as more people retire with many years of their life ahead of them, we should also be thinking about how getting involved and staying active can help to improve the wellbeing of those who give their time. | Properly integrating volunteering into our honours system would rightly reward those who spend their lives in the service of others. And as more people retire with many years of their life ahead of them, we should also be thinking about how getting involved and staying active can help to improve the wellbeing of those who give their time. |
| That’s not to say that battles don’t persist. | That’s not to say that battles don’t persist. |
| The thorny question of paid workers being replaced by volunteers remains a key concern for public sector unions. And more volunteering won’t come for free. But the reality is that volunteers are increasingly relieving pressure on paid staff by doing the jobs that they can no longer do or never even did. Volunteers improving discharge times by collecting prescriptions from hospital pharmacies, and providing reassurance and emotional support for people waiting to see professional staff are two increasingly common examples. | The thorny question of paid workers being replaced by volunteers remains a key concern for public sector unions. And more volunteering won’t come for free. But the reality is that volunteers are increasingly relieving pressure on paid staff by doing the jobs that they can no longer do or never even did. Volunteers improving discharge times by collecting prescriptions from hospital pharmacies, and providing reassurance and emotional support for people waiting to see professional staff are two increasingly common examples. |
| Volunteers are also undertaking skilled, sometimes difficult, roles – ask any police special constable – so we need to invest in training and support. Voluntary does not mean amateur. | Volunteers are also undertaking skilled, sometimes difficult, roles – ask any police special constable – so we need to invest in training and support. Voluntary does not mean amateur. |
| If we’re going to reduce demand for our overstretched public services, we need nothing short of a rebuilding of civil society: the clubs and societies, community groups and networks that are the connective tissue of society. | If we’re going to reduce demand for our overstretched public services, we need nothing short of a rebuilding of civil society: the clubs and societies, community groups and networks that are the connective tissue of society. |
| Recognising the central role these institutions play, and thinking radically about how to support them, will be central to our collective investment in our future health and wellbeing. | Recognising the central role these institutions play, and thinking radically about how to support them, will be central to our collective investment in our future health and wellbeing. |
| Volunteering | |
| Voluntary sector | |
| Social care | |
| Health | |
| NHS | |
| Hospitals | |
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