What is the purpose of the role?
Go into services like hospitals, care homes and GP surgeries to find out what people think about the care they receive. Work as a team to write a report and recommendations about how the service can improve, based on what you observe and what residents, patients, visitors and staff say they want and need.
What will I be doing?
As a Healthwatch Enter and View volunteer you will be asked to:
- Attend Healthwatch volunteer training
- Go into health and social care services in a small team of volunteers
- Observe care being delivered
- Listen to patients’ views about the care they receive, and to staff and visitors
- Keep a record of your conversations and observations
- Attend planning meetings with other volunteers
- Draft a written report as a team and make recommendations about how the service could improve and highlight good practice
This is an important and exciting role that will give a voice to some of our community’s most vulnerable people, like care home residents with dementia and service users living in inpatient mental health units.
What personal qualities do I need?
- Good listening skills and confidence to speak to new people
- Ability to write accurate records of people’s experiences of care
- Reliability
- Ability to dedicate eight hours a month
- Ability to work well in a team
- Passion for improving local health and social care services
- Respectful of all people from all backgrounds.
What’s in it for me?
- The opportunity to bring about real and positive change in your community
- The opportunity to make sure the views of vulnerable people are heard and acted upon in local health and social care
- Full initial training, including safeguarding training
- Ongoing support and continuing development and training opportunities
- Experience of working as a team, speaking to a wide variety of people with different needs, report writing and knowledge of health and social care for your CV and career development
- Meet new people
- Out of pocket expenses paid
- Feel good about yourself and give back to your community.
How much time and when?
The days and amount of time you give is flexible as different enter and view visits will take place at different times and on different days. Volunteers need to be able to dedicate around eight hours a month.