NNUH is an Investor in Volunteers

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has recently achieved the Investing in Volunteers Quality Standard in recognition of the excellent work done with volunteers.

Investing in Volunteers is the UK quality standard for all organisations involving volunteers and aims to improve the quality of the volunteering experience for all volunteers and for organisations to acknowledge the enormous contribution made by volunteers. Investing in Volunteers is managed by the UK Volunteering Forum and delivered by Volunteering England, Volunteer Development Scotland, Volunteer Development Agency in Northern Ireland and Wales Council for Voluntary Action.

NNUH was assessed against a range of best practice standards and proved to excel in all aspects of working with its volunteers.

Investing in Volunteers is unique in that it is the only standard that focuses on volunteers. It is based on four areas of volunteer management; planning for volunteer involvement, recruiting volunteers, selecting and matching volunteers and supporting and retaining volunteers. Further information about the Standard can be found on www.investinginvolunteers.org.uk.

The Standard enhances volunteer management and is rigorous but designed to be simple to implement and not to generate large amounts of paperwork. It is the only quality standard that has independent external validation with a UK Quality Assurance Panel that makes recommendations to the UK Volunteering Forum, the awarding body.

In 2005, the trust was the first in the country to be accredited as an Investor in Volunteers and has just been successfully inspected and reaccredited.

Each week, around 450 volunteers give a total of 1900 hours of their time, free of charge, to support patients and staff at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.

The volunteers range from students who help out in their holidays to others in their eighties who have been working regularly at the hospital for many years.

“We owe a huge debt to all our volunteers as they provide a valuable service for both patients and staff,” saidDavid Prior, chairman of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.