Volunteering Case Studies

Volunteering Case Studies

The following stories and videos describe the many potential benefits of volunteering.

The benefits can include:

  • improving the health or experience of recipients of care
  • improving services for other people
  • engaging with patients to free up staff time, and
  • beneficial impacts on volunteers themselves.

Art in the Gart - gardening volunteers

Volunteers help maintain the gardens at Gartnavel Royal Hospital in Glasgow, providing a welcome haven for the local community during lockdown.

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Gathering information to support the rollout of Virtual Visiting

Public partners reviewed 16 NHS boards' websites in November 2020 to establish how accessible current information and resources about Virtual Visiting were to patients and members of the public.

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Barbara Tucker Giving Back for NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde

Barbara decided to volunteer as a way of "giving back" to her community after the kind assistance her late husband, Colin, received from volunteers whilst an in-patient at Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

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Peer educators

Kidney Research UK has used volunteer peer educators of different faiths to raise awareness of kidney health and organ donation within South Asian communities in Edinburgh and Glasgow

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NHS Tayside volunteer activities during COVID-19 pandemic

Following the suspension of face-to-face activities due to the pandemic, NHS Tayside has continued to engage with its volunteers to help them stay connected, reduce feelings of isolation and make them feel valued.

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David, allotment volunteer, Fife

Volunteering can have a positive benefit on mental health. David, who volunteers with an NHS allotment in Fife, shares his experiences.

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Walk leaders, Western Isles

Volunteer Walk Leaders in NHS Western Isles are supporting people with lived experience of cancer, or who have family members going through cancer treatment.

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Volunteering in the NHS: COVID-19 response volunteers in NHS Tayside

NHS Tayside created a COVID-19 response volunteer role during the pandemic, providing a range of support for patients and staff

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COVID Response Volunteer – Shopper at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital

COVID-19 Response Volunteer positions were created to enable volunteers in a variety of roles to continue to support their communities safely throughout the pandemic.

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Role of the Voluntary Services Manager

Voluntary Services Managers are responsible for the recruitment and support of volunteers in health settings. They play an important role in NHS Scotland.

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Vaccination Clinic Volunteers, NHS Dumfries & Galloway

Volunteers play a vital role supporting flu clinics across NHS Dumfries & Galloway so that they ae safe and efficient for patients and staff.

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Positive effect of volunteer visitors, Glasgow

Regular visits from volunteers helped reduce the isolation and anxiety felt by an elderly patient in Glasgow.

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Mandeep and Subah, multilingual volunteer visitors, Glasgow

Students Mandeep and Subah are fluent in several languages. They visit patients in Glasgow and help to overcome isolation and language and cultural barriers.

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Helen, volunteer visitor, Ayrshire & Arran

Former patient Helen describes how the care and treatment she received during her stay in hospital inspired her to become a volunteer visitor following her recovery.

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Mealtime volunteers, Borders

Mealtime volunteers in NHS Borders assist nurses with duties around mealtimes, including filling out menus, delivering trays and arranging food so that patients can eat independently.

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Breastfeeding in Borders Support (BiBS)

Volunteers in NHS Borders provide peer support, advice and guidance about breastfeeding to new mums.

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Anne and Willie, InS:PIRE volunteers, Fife

InS:PIRE is a rehabilitation programme designed to help support patients and their loved ones after a stay in intensive care. Anne and Willie are InS:PIRE volunteers at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy.

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Allan, volunteer visitor and Sunday Escort, Grampian

Allan is a volunteer with NHS Grampian's Chaplaincy department. He visits patients at the main mental health hospital in Aberdeen and helps them to attend worship services.

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Mark, ABLE Youth Volunteer, Glasgow

Mark, 17, volunteers with ABLE Youth, a Glasgow-based initiative to educate young people about risk-taking behaviours and empower them to access health-related information.

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George, carer and public rep, Borders

George tells how he began volunteering with NHS Borders once his caring responsibilities had finished and describes the support he received as a carer.

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Invernevis House care home, Highland

Volunteers at an NHS care home in Highland support the quality of life of residents through social activities and community links. This allows staff to focus on clinical needs.

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Gordon, stroke peer support, Ayrshire & Arran

After suffering a number of strokes, Gordon volunteers with a peer support group. As well as supporting and encouraging other patients this has helped his own physical and emotional recovery.

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Community Chaplaincy Listening Volunteers

NHS Tayside and NHS Forth Valley support GP patients with a listening service run by trained and supervised volunteers.

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Therapeutic Touch Volunteers, Tayside

Volunteers provide a "therapeutic touch" service to support patients, carers and staff at Cornhill Macmillan Centre in Tayside.

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Stewart, hospice driver, Fife

Volunteers help in a number of roles at Victoria Hospice in Fife. Staff greatly value the support volunteers give to patients and the Volunteer manager explains how volunteers are recruited.

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Public Partners, Healthcare Improvement Scotland

Healthcare Improvement Scotland's volunteers provide a valuable public perspective. They help with hospital inspections, translating technical language and checking that communities are involved.

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Mental Health Volunteers, Forth Valley

In NHS Forth Valley, volunteers with experience of mental health conditions provide support to current patients. Getting involved has had a positive impact on volunteers' own mental health.

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Connect Group – community based volunteering in NHS Fife

In February 2020, Lisa visited the Connect Group in Kirkcaldy. The group is for people with a life-limiting illness, who have been discharged from palliative care day service.

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Spiritual care volunteering, Western Isles

Spiritual care volunteering offers support to people of all faiths and none. A volunteer in the Western Isles helps patients to attend weekly Sunday services in the hospital chapel.

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Last Updated: 1 December 2023