Upcoming Events

A free conference to explore how the NHS, the third sector and other health and social care partners can collaborate to create high-quality impact volunteering that enhances service delivery and patient outcomes.

The conference will explore how colleagues across NHS and third sector can work together to create high-quality volunteering  in NHS settings, focussing on volunteering that enhances safe, effective and person centred care for patients.

Every day across Scotland volunteers in health settings give their time and energy to help make a difference to the lives of patients. Volunteers can help save staff time, increase patient satisfaction, improve patient outcomes and provide a life enhancing experience for volunteers themselves. Over many decades the NHS has developed its own volunteer roles and engaged its own volunteers directly, and the NHS also partners with charities and other third sector organisations to deploy additional volunteers in NHS settings.

Since 2011 the Scottish Health Council has hosted the Volunteering in NHS Scotland programme which supports boards to develop and embed the volunteer contribution to health service delivery. To complement the national programme, in 2016 VHS set up Clear Pathway, a short-life project to explore how the third sector and health boards can best work together and develop good practice so that third sector volunteering in health settings is always safe, patient centred and effective.

Conference themes include:

• The Lampard Report: safety and protection in volunteering
• Game changing ideas and innovation in volunteering
• Disclosure Scotland PVG scheme policy review
• Recruitment, induction and training
• Cross sectoral partnerships on volunteering
• Proposed guidance to enhance third sector volunteering in health
• Beyond the NHS: volunteering in integrated care settings

This conference will be of interest and relevance to: NHS staff including volunteering strategic leads, voluntary services managers, procurement and commissioners; health charities; local third sector interfaces; other volunteer engaging organisations.

Contributors include:

Shona Robison MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, Scottish Government

Shulah Allan, Vice Chair,  NHS Lothian

Jullie Tran Graham, Programme Manager, Health Lab, NESTA

Jane Ferguson, Foundation Director, Edinburgh and Lothians Health Foundation

Chris Burghes, Executive Director, Royal Free Charity

Tracey Passway, Clinical Governance and Risk Management Team Lead, NHS Tayside

Marion Findlay, Director of Services, Volunteer Edinburgh 

Angela Farr, Service Manager, Volunteer Edinburgh

Linda Walker, Head Occupational Therapist (Forensic Psychiatry, Adult Mental Health & Older People Mental Health), NHS Lothian

Paul Okroj, Head of Volunteering, Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland  and Chair of Scottish Volunteering Forum

Rob Murray, Scotland Manager, Changing Faces

Jacqueline Campbell – Health and social care integration, Scottish Government

Claire Stevens, Chief Officer, Voluntary Health Scotland

Book your place here

Volunteering Golden Thread Agenda

Golden Thread in Health Conference Speakers

Twitter for Volunteering Conference

We have a limited number of exhibition spaces available at the event and sponsor options: Volunteering Conference Sponsorship and Exhibition Opportunities

A full agenda will be available shortly. Please contact Lauren Blair to discuss this event.