Job overview

Aim of the role

Etherow Building holds some of our Mental Health Outpatient Clinics.

We are looking for a friendly, and enthusiastic person who is able to engage with our patients who present with complex mental health conditions.

If you want to gain experience, improve your job prospects, or just want to give some of your time to help others, this volunteering role could be for you!

Main duties of the job

What the role involes:

·              Welcome service users, carers, staff and visitors

·              Direct/guide people to the service/room they require

·              Ask all people using the building sign in and out of the building (for the fire register)

·              Inform the relevant staff that the person has arrived

·              Engage and support people to complete Friends and Family test post cards and other experience questionnaires by:

o   Listen to patients after their appointment to gather their experience feedback.

o   Record people’s experiences on agreed templates, depending on the feedback we are asking them for, e.g. friends and family test (FFT), assessment feedback or general feedback

o   Send the feedback to the feedback team for collation.

·              Answer the phone, record and pass on messages to the appropriate person  in a timely manner

·              Refer anyone with concerns about their care and treatment to the relevant staff

·              Follow the set protocols for the above actions

·              To assist with organisation of the waiting area and notice boards e.g. tidying reading material, replenishing leaflets, discard out of date information.

DBS Level for this role is:  Standard

 The knowledge, skills and attributes required for the role:

• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Experience/knowledge of mental healt
• Punctuality
• Reliability

What we hope you gain from the role

• Our thanks and appreciation
• New skills and knowledge
• Satisfaction from helping others

Please note: To meet our Trust’s safeguarding obligations applicants for this volunteer role must be aged 18 or over.  

We offer opportunities in other services for people aged 16 and 17, please contact the volunteer service to discuss these roles

Travel and attendance requirements

To support a positive and sustainable volunteering experience including reducing unnecessary travel wherever possible, applicants are asked to consider their ability to travel to and attend their placement on a regular basis.

Where travel distances are significant in relation to the time commitment required, this may affect the suitability of the placement and the progression of an application. In such cases, applicants may be encouraged to explore opportunities closer to home and applications may not be progressed to shortlisting.

Working for our organisation

Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust

We are proud to provide high quality mental health and learning disability services, both inpatient and in the community across five boroughs of Greater Manchester - Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport and Tameside and Glossop.

Our vision is for a happier and more hopeful life for everyone in our communities and our staff work hard to deliver the very best care for the people who use our services. We're really proud of our #PennineCarePeople and do everything we can to make sure we are a great place to work.

We want our volunteers to reflect the diversity of the people we support, and we encourage and welcome applications from people across all our communities.

Volunteer Recruitment

Applying to become a volunteer may seem a little daunting for some people however, the volunteer service is here to guide and support you through the process. Please contact us on 0161 716 3365 or email [email protected] if you would like support to complete the online application form

Please be aware that due to the robust process, recruitment can sometimes take a few weeks.

Throughout the process you will have informal meetings with us and the service where you will be volunteering. In addition to this we will require you to:

• Complete an identity (ID) check
• Complete a Disclosure and Barring Service* (DBS) check,
• Complete an Occupational health assessment
• Give details for two references
• Complete relevant training.

*Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check

DBS checks for volunteers are free and the level of check is dependent on the role you are undertaking.

We encourage applicants to join the DBS Update Service which is also free for volunteers. You can find information on the DBS Update Service here: www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Some of our roles attract a large number of applications and we may be able to offer to 1 person only. You are advised to consider applying for our vacancies as soon as possible as in some instances vacancies are closed as soon as a sufficient number of applications have been received

We look forward to you joining us and making a difference.