Volunteering and PLACE Assessments: What’s it all about?

PLACE Assessments are starting again and we are looking for volunteers who want to be involved.

Have you had experiences with hospital services? Have you, a friend or a relative had a stay in hospital? Would you like to help improve the environment for those who visit, stay and work in your local hospital? Do you have one or two days free in October?

Then we may have the perfect volunteering opportunity for you.

PLACE assessments are a national yearly event in the NHS. Volunteers and staff are taken around particular areas of a hospital or care service to assess the environment and where improvements can be made. We are currently recruiting volunteers for this event.

As a PLACE Assessment Volunteer, you will be part of a team looking at practical things such as cleanliness, whether the lights work, and whether the handrails are clean and undamaged in hallways. These activities only happen once a year in a two-week window, and this year they will be happening in October. You can volunteer for one day, or for multiple days. You will receive full training, expenses will be paid and lunch will be provided. All of your feedback will be taken in a group session at the end of the tour, so there are no reports to write and nothing you need to prepare.

This is an opportunity to really make a difference for both staff and patients as your feedback will be given directly to Directors for improvements to be made.

This is a short-term volunteering opportunity and participants will need to complete a DBS check. This means that applications will close on September 30^th in order to leave enough time to apply for a DBS check. However, if you have signed up for the DBS update service, applications are open until the 14^th October.

If you would like any more information, please click here.