What inspires students to volunteer with us?

News - 1 June 2017

Volunteers’ Week is a chance to say a huge thank you to our 6,000+ amazing volunteers who help make a difference to health and care across the country.

What inspired you to volunteer for Healthwatch?

“I have always been interested in a career in the health sector. I come from a family of doctors and have spent lots of time doing work experience shadowing dentists. I joined Healthwatch to be able to hear patient views and understand how people can be affected by the varying levels of care they receive. What Healthwatch does is fascinating, so deciding to volunteer with them was a no-brainer for me.” ~ Sinchana

What have you been involved with as a volunteer?

“There are so many different things to do as a Healthwatch volunteer. When I started, I was able to take part in lots of training, including how to visit services to hear people’s views on the health and care they receive. After training, I got to visit a hospital in the area to carry out a survey on how people make their way to A&E. We also presented the final reports on our visits and it felt great to make a difference.” ~ Jenna

How did working with Healthwatch make you feel?

“Working with Healthwatch made me feel proud as I was giving back to the community. I thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering and had a lot of fun visiting health and care services in the area. Meeting new people has helped improve my skills, as I now feel more confident speaking to new people.” ~ Jess

What have you learnt from your experience?

“Volunteering with Healthwatch gave me an insight into the various aspects of healthcare. Getting to speak to patients from different backgrounds was a great experience and I feel the confidence and skills I learnt will help me in the future. Through my experience, I now understand how important health services are to the community and the impact they have. This has made me even more determined to become a doctor.” ~ Caitlin

What would you say to someone who wants to volunteer with Healthwatch?

“I would definitely recommend volunteering with Healthwatch because my experience has been amazing. I have been looked after very well and learnt so much about health and care services. I enjoyed meeting lots of different people and hearing more about their problems, which I wasn’t aware of before. As a volunteer, I’ve been given the opportunity to learn team work and leadership skills that I could have never learnt in a classroom.” ~ Jobi

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