NHS Volunteers is a new group that will carry out simple non-medical tasks to support people in England who have been asked to self-isolate and protect themselves from coronavirus due to serious health conditions. Healthcare workers will use the help of volunteers to ensure that people who are considered to be at high risk of coronavirus (COVID-19) can stay safe and well at home.
According to the latest official data, more than 700,000 volunteers have registered so far. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom thanked all the registered volunteers and emphasized that these volunteers will play an absolutely important role in the fight against the Covid-19 coronavirus.
Who can join and what are the tasks?
The NHS and social care urgently need people to join NHS volunteers to carry out simple but important tasks, including driving people to and from hospital and delivering food and medicine. Volunteers will also support the NHS by transporting essential equipment and supplies, and making regular phone calls to check on people self-isolating at home.
Please note that under the UK’s current ‘Stay at Home’ rules, you can volunteer for jobs outside your home if you meet ALL of the conditions below:
- You are well and have no symptoms such as a cough or high fever, and there is no one in your household with the above symptoms
- You are not yet 70 years old
- You are not pregnant.
- You have no long-term health conditions that make you vulnerable to coronavirus
I have to stay at home – can I still help?
You can sign up as a “sign up and talk” telephone volunteer even if you are staying at home and are in one of the groups listed above.
How to join?
Just register here
https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHSvolunteerresponders
and you will be asked to select tasks from a list. Once registration and verification are complete, you can download the GoodSAM Responders app. Local volunteer tasks will be directed to your phone with an alert when you switch the app to “on duty.”
Why were NHS volunteers established?
It is vital that health and social care teams can easily connect people in isolation with volunteers whose identities have been verified. The service aims to help people with specific health conditions that put them at high risk of coronavirus. It will be used by doctors, nurses and others where there is no alternative local support for their patients, and will help free up hospital beds for those who need them most.
