Volunteer overview

A volunteer is someone who gives their time for free and by choice. They often have skills or knowledge that they want to share.

Volunteers help in many different ways. There are a number of roles volunteers can take on in our Trust. Our volunteers make a difference by working on our wards, supporting our teams and even gardening for us. We hope that you find this page useful.

Volunteering for NHFT can also be a direct route into part or full-time employment (see Volunteer 2 Career tab below).

You can contact our Volunteer Team by email volunteering@nhft.nhs.uk or by phone: 03000 274109.

Please be aware we have a large number of applications and limited roles available. It may therefore take some time to find a suitable role for you. To find out more about further opportunities to volunteer in helathcare please visit the Volunteer Passport website

Recruitment process and mandatory training

As part of the recruitment process to become a volunteer with us, you need to complete some mandatory training.

This is the Health Education England Volunteering Learning Programme which is national training for NHS volunteers.

You can start this training at any time before completing the application form.

You will need to register on the Volunteer Learning Portal at the following web address: https://volunteers.e-lfh.org.uk/

Once logged into the portal, go to “My eLearning” and select “Volunteer Learning (VTW)”. You will then see the list of volunteer learning modules available.

Each is a short eLearning session with a multiple-choice test at the end. You can repeat the tests if you do not pass first time.

Below are the modules you must complete to volunteer with us:

  • Roles and responsibilities of a volunteer - one off
  • Data security awareness - yearly
  • Conflict resolution - every 3 years
  • Equality, Diversity and Human Rights - every 3 years
  • Safeguarding adults - every 3 years
  • Safeguarding children - every 3 years
  • Fire safety - yearly
  • Moving and assisting - every 3 years
  • Mental health awareness - every 3 years
  • Safeguarding child sexual exploitation (CSE) - every 3 yeas
  • Resuscitation (Basic life support) - one off

You have the option to complete any further modules if you want to achieve the National Volunteer Certificate.

Once you have completed all the above modules, please go to “My activity – Reports” to download all your results in one report. Select “Activity record (summarised)” and “Download as PDF”. If you join us as a volunteer you will need to send this as evidence.

Volunteer Recruitment Process

Volunteer FAQs

Volunteer opportunities

Volunteer Befriending service

Volunteer 2 Career

Meet some of our volunteers