Volunteer

By becoming a volunteer for St Peter's Hospice you will enable us to continue to provide our high standards of care and support for patients and their carers.

In return we offer you:

• Training and support
• A sense of fulfillment
• An opportunity to learn new skills
• A chance to meet new friends
• A real appreciation of your involvement

We ask all prospective volunteers to fill in an application form which you will you can download below. Receipt of satisfactory references is followed by an informal interview. We then arrange for you to attend a one day orientation programme. During this, you will gain an overview of the services offered by the Hospice.

At the end of the programme, we will discuss together the areas that appeal to you and arrange work experience with an experienced volunteer, enabling you to find a niche in the organisation.

Patient contact roles are subject to Criminal Records Bureau disclosure checks at the required level. You can read more about this below.

Volunteer vacancies

We currently have vacancies in the following areas:

• Reception
• Inpatient Unit general
• Inpatient Unit ward receptionist
• Coffee shop
• Flower volunteers
• Hairdressing 
• Driving
• Gardening
• eBay
• Shops - click here for more information...>
• Events - click here for more information...>

Volunteer vacancy

Volunteer with good IT skills and preferably some librarian skills/experience to work independently but alongside the Education Department staff at the Hospice site in Brentry.

About 4 hours a week. 

Reception

Volunteers who work on reception play an important role in welcoming visitors and patient's families, have daily contact with staff and deal with telephone calls. Full training is provided.

Duty times:

Monday to Friday:

• 9:30am to 1:30pm
• 1:30pm to 5:30pm
• 5:30pm to 8:00pm - fortnightly, once every four weeks or relief

Saturday to Sunday:

• 9:00am to 1:00pm - fortnightly, once every four weeks or relief
• 1:00pm to 5:00pm
• 5:00pm to 8:00pm

Current reception vacancies are for:

• Sunday mornings, afternoons and evenings

Inpatient Unit general volunteers

General IPU volunteers work in pairs and are caring practical people who play an important role in the inpatient unit. They help to serve drinks and meals, run errands and chat to patients and their visitors, allowing specialist staff to focus on palliative nursing and medical needs.

Shift times:

• 9:30am to 1:00pm
• 2:30pm to 6:30pm

Current IPU general volunteer vacancies are:

• Wednesday mornings
• Saturday morning
• Sunday afternoons
• Volunteers needed for relief duties all days of the week

IPU ward receptionist

Volunteer ward receptionists assist the inpatient unit on Saturdays and Sundays answering the telephone and welcoming visitors.

Duty times are:

• 9:00am to 1:00pm
• 1:00pm to 5:00pm

Current IPU ward receptionist vacancies:

• We are extending this role and are looking for volunteers for duties between 5:45pm to 8:00pm every evening of the week
• Saturday afternoons
• Sunday afternoons
• Relief for mornings and afternoon

Coffee shop volunteers

We are also recruiting coffee shop volunteers to help run the visitors coffee shop to be opened in 2011.

Shifts will be weekdays and weekends at the following times:

• 10:30am to 2:30pm
• 2:30pm to 6:30pm
• We need volunteers for afternoon shifts during the week and over weekends

Flower volunteers

We require volunteers to set aside one to two hours to collect flowers from patients rooms and the public areas, clean the vases and refresh flowers in the flower room, return to patients rooms.

Flower volunteer vacancies:

• Saturday - monthly

Hairdressers

Patients appreciate having their hair done at our Hospice salon, when in the Day Hospice or the Inpatient Unit. We currently have vacancies on alternate Mondays, Wednesdays and alternate Thursday and Fridays.

Volunteer drivers

Drivers use their own cars to transport patients from their homes to the Hospice in time for a 10:00am start and return them to their homes at the completion of the Day Hospice. This is a vital and personal transport service that enables patients within the greater Bristol area to attend our Day Hospice.

Current driving vacancies:

We are currently recruiting for volunteer drivers in the Kingswood, Hanham, Longwell Green and Whitchurch areas.

Gardening

Do you know a weed from a flower?

We need more volunteers to work alongside our staff gardener doing general gardening work to help with the up keep of the Hospice outdoor area for the benefit of patients and their families.

Current gardening vacancies:

• A few hours weekly or fortnightly

eBay volunteers

Required to pick, pack and post orders, research and photograph items ready for sale.

More information 

If you would like to find out more about becoming a volunteer at St Peter’s, please contact Jenni Travers, Head of Volunteer Resources, by telephone on 0117 915 9448 or email her  jenni.travers@stpetershospice.org 

Download a volunteer application form here...>

Please send completed forms to:

Jenni Travers
Head of Volunteer Resources
St Peter’s Hospice
Charlton Road
Brentry
Bristol BS10 6NL

Or you can email your completed form to jenni.travers@stpetershospice.org 

Information for potential volunteers relating to Criminal Records Bureau disclosure checks

Patient contact roles are subject to Criminal Records Bureau disclosure checks at the required level.

1. Rehabilitation of Offenders

St Peter’s is committed to the fair treatment of its staff, potential staff or users of its services, regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, responsibilities for dependants, age, physical / mental disability or offending background.

The hospice promotes equality of opportunity for all individuals with the right mix of talent, skills and potential and welcomes applications from a wide range of candidates, including those with criminal records.

We undertake not to discriminate unfairly against anyone who has previous criminal convictions and having a criminal record will not necessarily be a bar to involvement as a volunteer with the hospice.

2. Criminal Records Bureau Checks

Based on a thorough risk assessment, some of the volunteer roles in our organization are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and require a satisfactory CRB check before an appointment can be confirmed.

An enhanced check is required for all patient contact roles based at our hospice site.

It is our policy to encourage anyone who is interested in being considered for any of these roles to provide details of any criminal convictions – spent or unspent – early on in the discussion process. You can do this by writing separately, in confidence, to Jenni Travers, Head of Volunteer Resources. This information would only be disclosed to a manager or supervisor if it was necessary for the particular assignment.