Why volunteer within the NHS?
A volunteering position within NHS Lothian is a fantastic opportunity to develop your skills and experience whilst making a positive impact on patients, family members and the NHS itself!
In your time as a volunteer, you could:
- Build your confidence in a variety of different environments and social interactions
- Develop your communication skills through building rapport with those you come across throughout your placement
- Gain a real understanding of the sort of work that is carried out across the NHS every day
- Learn about the NHS values and how to apply them in your approach to lots of different situations
- Make a real difference to people accessing healthcare through the NHS and their families, as well as providing some support to busy and appreciative NHS staff
- Gain a better idea of what sort of career might interest you
- Have great fun, have interesting conversations and feel satisfaction in knowing you’ve made a positive impact
- Gain Scotland-wide recognised accreditation through YMCA skill stacks, Saltire awards and more.
Youth Volunteering opportunities
Meaningful May Volunteering Programme 2024
Following the successful delivery of the Youth Volunteering Summer Programme 2023, NHS Lothian are delighted to launch the Meaningful May Volunteering Programme 2024.
The aim of this four-week structured programme is to give young people aged 16-25 the opportunity to try some of the varied and fulfilling volunteering opportunities we have across NHS Lothian, whilst learning more about available routes into a career with the NHS and developing a better understanding about what it’s like to be in a healthcare environment.
This is a supported volunteering programme meaning applicants will be matched to experienced volunteers when on placement and to a Volunteer Manager on site for any queries, they will attend a training and info session at the beginning and end of the placement to help them to get the most out of the opportunity and will keep track of their progress through reflective workbooks.
Above all we hope our Meaningful May volunteers will have an enjoyable time whilst building their confidence and trying new things!
When is the programme running?
The Meaningful May Volunteering Programme will take place between Wednesday 1st May – Friday 31st May 2024. Applicants will carry out two volunteering days a week, training and some additional reflective activities and employability workshops. We require applicants to be available during the day for placement throughout that full 4-week period, so please make sure this is something you can commit to before applying.
What experience do I need?
You don’t require any prior experience to take part in this volunteering opportunity as we see this as an exciting first step, however our NHS values are really important to us so the ideal candidate is someone who can display these values:
Care and Compassion – Are you approachable, friendly, kind and caring towards others in your words and your actions? Do you take time with people so they feel listened to and understood?
Dignity and Respect – Are you polite and courteous towards others in the way you communicate and in your actions? Do you respect people’s privacy and treat them with dignity? Do you respect and value uniqueness and diversity? Would you be able to maintain a professional attitude?
Quality – Would you be committed to trying your best in every situation?
Teamwork – Are you able to value others and be fair, thoughtful, welcoming and kind?
Openness, Honesty and Responsibility – Can you build trust by being honest and doing what you say you will do? Can you commit to doing what is right – even when challenged, and welcome feedback as a means of improving yourself?
You can find more information on our values here: https://org.nhslothian.scot/OurValues/Pages/default.aspx
How do I apply?
Applications are now open until Friday 8 March 2024 at 5pm!
Download the application form, equal opportunities and occupational health declaration and guidance forms below, fill them in and send them to loth.meaningfulmay@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk.
If your application is shortlisted you will be invited to an in-person interview day between Monday 18th March – Friday 29th March, where you’ll have the chance to meet other applicants as well as some staff from the NHS Lothian Voluntary Services and Workforce Development teams. We know interviews can be daunting, so we aim to make this an informal process and above all see this as a chance to get to know more about you, as well as giving you the chance to get to know more about us.
If you have any questions, contact us at loth.meaningfulmay@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk.
We look forward to receiving your applications!
Step into Volunteering Programme
Our Step into Volunteering programme for 16-25 year olds provides a stepping stone into our Core volunteering opportunity! Volunteers on this programme receive face to face, small group training and the opportunity to participate in additional training and check in sessions from our dedicated Youth Volunteering Service Manager over a 12-week period, before graduating into our Core opportunity. We hope this programme will allow volunteers who need to build their confidence and communication skills the chance to ease into volunteering with NHS Lothian and to hit the ground running after a little bit of extra support.
What would I get out of it?
Volunteering has so many benefits but for a participant in the Step into Volunteering programme there are a few extra benefits including:
- The opportunity to gain insight into the NHS Lothian and careers in healthcare
- The opportunity to build confidence and develop skills
- A reflective workbook to identify new skills and experiences to support applications for work or study
- Travel expenses
- Volunteer uniform
- Young Scot Points
- A reference on completion of the six-month placement
- The opportunity to extend your volunteering contribution beyond six months
The types of skills you can develop and grow through volunteering with NHS Lothian will help you in your next steps towards the world of work or further study and include:
- Communicating effectively in the workplace
- Understanding and maintain confidentiality
- Understanding working environments driven by values
- Being able to demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion working with others
- Understanding responsibility in the workplace
- Valuing diversity and inclusion
- Making best use of resources, taking responsibility for your own actions and self-development
When does the Step into Volunteering Programme take place?
Contact volunteer.enquiries@nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk for more information and our latest programme dates.
If you are still interested in volunteering but feel you don’t require the sort of higher-level support that the supported volunteering programmes provide, you can also apply to our core volunteering programme:
Core Volunteering Programme
Who is the Core Volunteering Programme for?
The Core Volunteering Programme is for anyone aged 16+, who is able to commit to 2 hours a week for at least 6 months. It is best suited to those who keen to get stuck straight in. This route is perfect for those who want to study health care (medicine, nursing, midwifery etc.) or for those who don’t feel they need as much support or guidance to get started.
What roles are available?
Full roles for our core programme are detailed here:
https://www.nhslothian.scot/getinvolved/volunteering-opportunities/
How do I apply?
You can apply via our online form here:
The application process is simple. There is an application pack to complete as you go through the recruitment process. The pack includes:
- An Application Form where you can tell us a little about yourself and why you want to volunteer (make sure to mention your interest in Step into Volunteering so we put you into the correct programme!). The application form can be filled in here: https://www.nhslothian.scot/getinvolved/online-application-form/
- An Occupational Health Self-Declaration Form which we may ask you to complete. This helps us work out if there is any adjustments or modifications we need to make to enable you to volunteer.
- An Equal Opportunities Form. This is kept separate from your Application Form as we process your application but helps us to understand our volunteering community better.
