Volunteer With Us

Volunteers who act as a point of contact between Healthwatch St Helens and people in their communities. This can be friends, relatives, neighbours, colleagues and any type of group you are part of.

Purpose of the role

• To spread the word about Healthwatch St Helens and encourage people to share their views and experiences of using services.
• To represent people in the community by feeding back their views and experiences about local health and social care services to the Healthwatch Support Team.

 What will you be doing?

• As a Healthwatch Champion you are asked to:
• Be the point of contact between Healthwatch and people you know.
• Talk to people you know about Healthwatch and its role.
• Promote Healthwatch and its role within your group/local community/workplace/college etc.
• Ask people you know about their views and experiences of local health and social care services.
• Record what people tell you about their experiences, whether good or bad and feed them back to the Support Team.
• Attend Healthwatch volunteer training if appropriate.
• Attend forums with other Healthwatch members if appropriate to discuss issues and concerns and possible areas of work.
  
  

Personal qualities for the role

• Good listening and communication skills

• Committed to helping people have a voice

• Able to encourage people you know to speak up about their views and experiences

• Non-judgmental and respectful of others

• Able to separate own experiences from other people’s issues.

• Committed to promoting equality & diversity.

 How we will support you:

• Providing you with leaflets and materials you might need to help you to talk to people about Healthwatch

• Providing you with a point of contact in the Support Team

• Reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses you incur.

• Providing you with information about a range of local health and well-being services and issues where appropriate

• Giving you opportunities to get together with other Healthwatch volunteers and exchange ideas/information

 Duration/Commitment:

The amount of time you give and how involved you get with the work of Healthwatch St Helens is flexible; you can discuss and agree this with the Volunteer Support Officer.

How To Apply

Please complete the attachement application form below. Or complete the webform by clicking the link below:

https://www.healthwatchsthelens.co.uk/healthwatch-st-helens-volunteer-application-form

Trained volunteers who work in small teams to visit and observe health and social care services, gathering the views of patients, residents, relatives and carers. Please note - volunteers for this role should be aged 18yrs+

Purpose of the role

To enter and view health and social care services and report back observations to Healthwatch Halton. Healthwatch has an important statutory power that entitles authorised volunteers to enter and view health and social care settings as services are being delivered and to then report back on them.

 What you will be doing

 As a Healthwatch Enter and View volunteer you will be asked to:

• Attend Healthwatch training and group support sessions as appropriate.
• Participate in Enter and View planning and review meetings
• Enter and view health and social care premises while services are being delivered.
• Observe services and collect views of service users, their carers and families, and staff.
• Contribute to a written report about observations made, which includes any positive and/or negative feedback.

 Personal Qualities for the role

• Good listening and communication skills.
• Patient and compassionate.
• An ability to separate your own experiences and views from those of others and demonstrate impartiality.
• Able to work as part of a team.
• Non-judgmental and respectful of others.
• Will maintain confidentiality unless there is a safeguarding concern or a person tells you something that leads you to believe they, or someone else is at risk of harm.

 How we will support you

• Providing you with information about a range of local health and well-being services.
• Providing you with an induction and ongoing training as needed.
• Giving you opportunities to get together with other Healthwatch volunteers and exchange ideas/information.
• Covering the costs of travelling to meetings and visits.

 Other information

Due to the nature of the role you will need to complete an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check before taking part in enter and view visits.

When and Where

Visits can be undertaken at any time services are being delivered but will usually be conducted during Monday – Fri between 9.00am – 5.00pm.

 Duration/Commitment

 The time commitment is likely to vary depending on the location and type of visit(s) being undertaken.

How to apply

Please complete the attached application form below.

Healthwatch representatives are volunteers who represent us at meetings. This includes meetings organised by the Clinical Commissioning Group, Local Authority, Hospital Trusts and other service providers.

Purpose of the role

• To be the voice for people in the community and feed back their views on local health and social care services.
• To feed back information gathered at meetings back to the Support Team to inform future priorities and areas of work.

What will you be doing?

As a Healthwatch Representative you are asked to:

• Represent Healthwatch and offer the lay perspective at meetings with statutory sector partners and local service providers.
• Report back to the Volunteer Support officer after each meeting you attend, either by telephone or by submitting a report template by email.
• Provide information to the Volunteer Support Officer about issues discussed at meetings that are relevant to Healthwatch and where we have been influential.
• Contributing to the wider work of Healthwatch through information acquired at meetings attended.
• Talk to people you know about Healthwatch and its role.
• Record what people tell you about their experiences, whether good or bad and feed them back to the Support Team.
• Attend Healthwatch volunteer training and group support sessions as appropriate.
• Attend meetings with other Healthwatch members to discuss issues and concerns from meetings attended and possible areas of work.

 Personal qualities for the role

• Committed to the Healthwatch St Helens Code of Conduct.
• Good listening and communication skills.
• Committed to helping people have a voice.
• Able to encourage people you know to speak up about their views and experiences.
• Non-judgmental and respectful of others.
• Able to separate own experiences from other people’s issues.
• Committed to promoting equality & diversity.

 How we will support you

• Making sure you understand the issues related to the meeting you are attending
• Providing you with information about a range of local health and well-being services and issues.
• Providing you with an induction and ongoing training as needed.
• Giving you opportunities to get together with other Healthwatch volunteers and exchange ideas/information.
• Covering the costs of travelling to meetings and visits.

 Duration/commitment

The time commitment will vary, depending on the nature of the meetings you are attending on our behalf.

 Healthwatch Representatives should be willing to get involved with other areas of work such as task & finish groups, where the knowledge they gain at the meetings they attend will be beneficial.

How to apply

Please complete the attached applicaition form below.