Cabinet Office Third Sector

Phil Hope celebrates 60 years of volunteering in the NHS

26 June 2008
CAB/073/08

Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, joined volunteers in Sydenham and Lewisham today to celebrate the important role that volunteers have played in the NHS since it was set up 60 years ago. The Minister rolled up his sleeves to lend a hand to volunteers at the Sydenham Gardening Project. Later he met volunteers at the adult mental health unit at the University College hospital Lewisham to hear about their work.

The NHS came into being on 5 July 1948. Since that day volunteers have worked alongside NHS staff to improve standards of care. At the Sydenham Gardening Project, a charity volunteering initiative that is partially funded by the NHS, the Minister helped referred patients, who work alongside volunteers to plant lettuces, courgettes and pumpkins.

Tim Walker, Director of Sydenham Gardens said:

“We are delighted at the interest the Minister has in the project and it is great to see him engage so willingly with the volunteers and staff. Volunteering is and always has been critical to our community charity.”

Visiting the adult mental health unit at the University College hospital Lewisham, he met Samantha MacDonald, a former patient who later became a volunteer and now works as a full time staff member.

She said:

“As a former patient, volunteering in the NHS was the perfect platform for enabling me to re-join the world of work. Volunteering facilitated my recovery and gave me the confidence I needed to move on in my life. It has allowed me to share my experiences and help others with similar problems.”

Phil Hope, Minister for the Third Sector, said:

“I want to pay tribute to the volunteers who have helped shape the health service over the last 60 years. Their dedication and commitment has aided the recovery of millions of people.”

“It has been great to get out of the office and meet volunteers who help the NHS in such different ways. The Government wants to encourage more people to volunteer and with the NHS consultation on a strategy to better support its volunteers, this is another step towards that.”

Throughout the NHS 60 week (29 June-5 July) stakeholders, patients and the public will participate in a range of activities to mark the occasion and pay tribute to the unique contribution that the NHS makes to British society.

These visits were organised by Capital Volunteering, a pan London programme which aims to tackle the issues of mental health and social inclusion, through volunteering. The programme is a partnership between the health and community sector, lead by Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and the London Development Centre (CSIP) and funded by the Treasury, through its Invest to Save Budget (ISB). Other key partners include a wide range of local voluntary and community organisations and NHS trusts.

Notes for Editors

1. Capital Volunteering projects support people who are isolated due to their illness and whose confidence, self-esteem and social networks are undermined due to their experiences of mental ill-health. Projects also help mental health service users re-gain entry into employment. Capital Volunteering is backed by CSV and the London Development Centre. It received £7.3 million from the Treasury's Invest to Save budget (ISB).
2. Capital Volunteering operates across 11 London boroughs: Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Camden, Islington, Barking & Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge, Waltham Forest, and Hillingdon. Further information about Capital Volunteering can be found at www.capitalvolunteering.org.uk [External website].
3. CSV (Community Service Volunteers) creates opportunities for people to take an active part in the life of their communities through volunteering, training and community action. In 2006/7 229,869 people gave time as volunteers through CSV. CSV trained 12,309 people of all ages and linked 29,000 people to learning through BBC Local Radio www.csv.org.uk [External website].
4. 4.The London Development Centre is part of the Care Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) and one of eight regional development centres in England. It aims to support service improvement of care services in London and help ensure better outcomes for children and families, adults and older people, including those with mental health needs, physical disability or learning disabilities and people in the criminal justice system www.londondevelopmentcentre.org [External website].
5. On 25 June, Health Secretary Alan Johnson launched a six-month consultation to improve support for volunteers in the NHS, social care and third sector, and to encourage more volunteering opportunities. The consultation, ‘Towards a strategy to support volunteering in health and social care’ will lead to a national volunteering strategy next year. The aim of the consultation and subsequent strategy is to:
   • raise the esteem and profile of volunteering;
   • help improve management and support for volunteers;
   • support more robust evaluation of the outcomes and benefits of volunteering; and
   • allow more coherent investment to support their involvement.
6. Sydenham Garden Project is an independent charity. The project provides gardening, nature conservation and creative opportunities for the well-being of local residents, in particular those with health problems. For more info, contact: Catherine Winsor on 0208 2911650 or 07828 197790.
7. The Ladywell Unit, based at the University Hospital Lewisham site, is the inpatient unit for Lewisham Adult Mental Health Services. The inpatient service offers comprehensive assessment and ongoing assessment of mental health, risk and social needs for those whose illness is of such a degree that treatment cannot be provided safely by a community mental health service. For more info, contact: Stella Davis on 0208 333 3490 or 07854 966340.

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