Archive for category: News

Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire, on behalf of Northamptonshire Health & Care Volunteering has been awarded a grant as part of Volunteering for Health – a £10 million programme being delivered in partnership by NHS England, NHS Charities Together and CW+, the official charity of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

Volunteering for Health aims to maximise the benefits of volunteers as a vital resource in delivering health and social care nationally and locally, whilst strengthening volunteering infrastructure.

The programme is part of NHS England’s response to the NHS Volunteering Taskforce which brought together health charities, volunteers, clinicians, civil servants and policy makers. The Taskforce published its recommendations in June 2023, concluding that more can be done nationally and locally to maximise the benefits of volunteers and volunteering in the NHS.

Northamptonshire Health & Care Volunteering was one of 15 partnerships across the UK to successfully bid for funding. Partnerships are made up of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations, NHS Trusts, integrated care boards (ICBs), local authorities (LAs) and NHS charities. In Northamptonshire the partnership is led by Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire and includes Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT), Mental Health Northants Collaboration (MHNC), Northamptonshire Community Foundation, Northamptonshire Black Communities Together (NBCT), Northampton General Hospital, Kettering General Hospital, and wider stakeholders across health and social care.

Grants were awarded to applicants who were able to demonstrate how they intended to break down barriers, test new models and develop guidance and best practice that can be shared across the NHS and beyond.

With this funding, the partnership intends to embed volunteering into health systems at a strategic level, increase the capacity and capability for volunteering and improve the volunteer experience, and improve the diversity of the volunteer workforce by reducing barriers to volunteering for under-represented communities and testing new models of volunteering.

Russell Rolph, CEO of Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire said:

“I am delighted that Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire is part of a partnership collective which has achieved Volunteering in Health funding. We all know the importance of volunteering, and within health, and at this current time, it’s even more vital. I look forward to working with our Funder and a range of differing organisations across many sectors. The idea that we can bring volunteering skill and knowledge into health, and potentially chart a career in healthcare for volunteers is exciting.”

The grant will be paid in instalments over the next three years, until the end of June 2027. Voluntary Impact Northamptonshire will receive an initial payment for the development phase, with an ambition to begin delivering the programme by March 2025.

Duncan Burton, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said:

“Volunteers, as partners with our skilled staff, make a significant contribution across NHS and care services and positively impact the lives of many people.

“There are currently more than 300 ways that people can volunteer for the NHS, ranging from running a hospital radio show to helping combat loneliness. This programme will further harness the power of volunteering for the benefit of patients, staff and communities.”

Search ‘NHS Volunteering’ or visit volunteering.england.nhs.uk/volunteer to find out more about how to become an NHS volunteer.

VIN’s new Strategic Plan entitled VINFRASTRUCTURE can be viewed by clicking here

It covers the next 2-year period (from 2024 – 2026) and correlates with the 24-month award given by West Northamptonshire Council for Infrastructure services.

In many respects it addresses the new world that Infrastructure charities and the wider VCSE are now part of: A world of challenge, competition but opportunity.

Like most other community-based organisations, VIN must stay true to its Mission Position whilst diversifying its income portfolio, which is never easy.

Russell Rolph, the VIN CEO states:

I hope you enjoy reading the contents of this plan. In compiling this, we have looked at our historic strengths and the work we still need to do to profile Infrastructure at its best, whilst supporting as many grass roots organisations as we can. In order to do this, we have formally partnered with South Northants Volunteer Bureau (SNVB) and Daventry Volunteers, ensuring coverage across the whole of West Northamptonshire. We know we must find new and innovative ways of providing advice and guidance, much of which will be resourced based and gain the most from digital platforms which community organisations can access at a time of their choosing. The sector is being asked to deliver more with less, and Infrastructure is no different. Our strategic plan is a pragmatic approach to the world we see.

Here is our report on the Collaboration in Health Inequalities Event which was funded by NHS Partnerships England and took place on the 1^st May 2024.

The Report is a synopsis of the rich and broad discussions which took place.

Thank you once again to all the keynote speakers that attended, and to the LAP Leads for facilitating the Peer Circles.