News

Some of you may have joined the recent focus groups held across NSW, which invited volunteers and their leaders to have their say about volunteering in health. Now you can read about the findings in the newly released Volunteering in Health report, which was launched at an event at NSW Parliament House last week.

The report, commissioned by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, notes that the distinct contribution of volunteering in health is the presence of another person at some of the hardest points in a person’s life. Volunteers are there to sit with patients, drive people to treatment, make welfare calls and stay present through some of life’s hardest moments.

Their presence, time and continuing relationships make a real difference to health and wellbeing across NSW. Health volunteers give nearly double the hours of other volunteers, and their contribution is credited with outcomes the funded system does not produce on its own.

Both volunteers and their managers overwhelmingly described working in health settings as rewarding. Volunteering in health is more likely than other forms of volunteering to give volunteers a sense of purpose, friendships and social connection with their community.

The report also identified improvements that could be made to the sector, including funding volunteer coordination as a core activity and covering costs volunteers personally incur, such as transport. One big idea to emerge was portable checks. A ‘volunteer passport’ would allow volunteers to take their Working with Children Check and police checks with them from organisation to organisation, greatly reducing the burden on volunteer coordinators.

Another important recommendation is for NSW Health to update its policy on volunteers as it has not been updated since 2011. The full report is worth a read. You can find it by clicking here.