Volunteering Opportunities
We are now open for our summer recruitment cohort, taking applications until 16th July 2025. We are super excited to welcome 25 new volunteers in to our team and you can see our available roles below.
When you see a role that interests you please complete our online application form. Paper application forms are available on request. Once submitted, you can expect to hear from us within 5 working days to arrange an informal interview.
Volunteering within a hospital environment is a unique and rewarding experience. Because of this, the onboarding process may include more steps than other volunteering roles and you can check out our recruitment process here. We look forward to hearing from you!
If you would like to be involved but are not able to give a regular commitment, please see our occasional volunteering page.
East Devon Roles:
Nightingale Hospital - Meet and Greet
The Nightingale Hospital Exeter is looking to welcome volunteers who have a can-do attitude that want a patients’ experience in the hospital to be a positive one and for them to walk away with a smile on their face. We are looking for enthusiastic, sympathetic and friendly volunteers who will welcome patients, point them in the right direction and put them at ease for their appointment. Coming to hospital can often be a daunting experience so our aim with the volunteers is to provide them with a friendly face who can reassure them and direct them to the right entrance. You will be joining an established group of friendly volunteers that we could not be without! If you want to make a difference to a patients day then please come and join us!
Other requirements
- Applicants must be at least 16 to volunteer in this role.
- Training: undertake all relevant online training for the role and comply with instructions
- Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 4 hours of volunteering every week. Our shift times are from 08:00-12:00 and 12:00-16:00
- Application requirements: Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check with Adult Barring List.
For more information please see our Nightingale Hospital Volunteer Role Description.
Applications for this role are processed by the Nightingale Team through a different link. Please click here to apply.
Mealtime Companion
You will be part of a dedicated ward team, offering support to staff and non-medical assistance to patients accessing our services. Whilst there, you will provide an extra dimension to care by offering social support for patients with dementia and their carers. You’ll also help to improve mealtimes for patients by helping with feeding, encouragement and companionship. This makes mealtimes a more social experience, increases nutrition and can enhance patient recovery.
Location: Ken, Bovey or Ashburn in Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital
Other requirements
- Applicants must be at least 18 to volunteer in this role.
- Training: undertake all relevant online training for the role and comply with instructions
- Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 3 hours of volunteering every week.
- Application requirements: Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check with Adult Barring List.
- Due to the nature of this ward, volunteers may require vaccination against certain diseases (e.g., Tuberculosis or Mumps).
For more information, please see our Mealtime Companion and Dementia Support role description.
Patient Safety Partner
Are you looking for a flexible role that allows you to contribute to healthcare improvement on your own schedule? We have an exciting opportunity for two Patient Safety Partners to join our team. This is a new and flexible role, allowing us to accommodate the hours that suit you. It is likely to be mainly on Teams however, there will be some on-site visits as part of induction and orientation to the RDUH. What is a Patient Safety Partner (PSP)?. A patient safety partner is a new role developed by NHS England, which recognises a growing body of work, of the contributions that involving patients, carers and their families across all levels of healthcare can make to improving patient safety and experience. To enable the hospital to value, listen and to work in partnership with staff to influence and improve the governance and leadership of safety within an NHS organisation.
We are looking for enthusiastic, proactive individuals with a keen interest in healthcare improvement, strong written and spoken communication skills, and a commitment to “patient-centred safety” working alongside staff, volunteers, patients, and families. A PSP is actively involved in the design of safer healthcare at all levels in the Trust. This may include safety governance, considering how safety issues should be addressed, providing appropriate challenge to ensure learning and change can be turned into quality improvement leading to strategy and policy development.
We welcome candidates from all backgrounds, including those who have lived or family experiences with healthcare services
Other requirements
- • Applicants must be at least 18 years to volunteer in this role.
• Live, work or study within Devon or have a good knowledge of health and social care in the county
• Training: undertake all relevant online training for the role and comply with instructions
• Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 6 hours of volunteering every week.
For more information, please see our Patient Safety Partner role description.
Meet and Greet - Heavitree Hospital
Arriving at the hospital can be a scary time for many of our patients. The aim of our Meet and Greet volunteers is to ease that anxiety with a friendly welcome to the building. As part of the wider Patient Support team, you will direct people to the correct parts of the hospital and help them to get there if needed. As part of this role, you will be checking patient names and directing them to the right clinics. You will usually be volunteering with another member of the team and be part of a weekly rota.
Other requirements
- Applicants must be at least 18 to volunteer in this role.
- Training: undertake all relevant online training for the role and comply with instructions
- Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 3 hours of volunteering every week, usually in a morning
- Volunteers may require vaccination against certain diseases (e.g., Tuberculosis or Mumps).
- Application requirements: Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check with Adult Barring List.
For more information, please see our Meet and Greet role description.
Meet and Greet - Centre for Women's Health (Exeter)
Arriving at the hospital can be a scary time for many of our patients. The aim of our Meet and Greet volunteers is to ease that anxiety with a friendly welcome to the building. As part of the wider Patient Support team, you will direct people to the correct parts of the hospital and help them to get there if needed. You will be based in our Centre for Women’s Health (CWH) entrance and be part of a weekly rota.
Location: Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital – Wonford Site
Other requirements
- Applicants must be at least 18 to volunteer in this role.
- Training: undertake all relevant online training for the role and comply with instructions
- Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 2 hours of volunteering every week.
- Application requirements: Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check with Adult Barring List.
For more information please see our Meet and Greet CWH Role Description.
MY CARE Champion
MY CARE is a free to use application that allows our patients to view their health information from home, check appointments, view test results, send direct messages to their care team and much more. We know that there are many people who do not use MY CARE currently but that would benefit from the features of the app. As a MY CARE Champion, you will talk to visitors about MY CARE, support them to sign up or show them how to use helpful elements for them or their loved ones. Training on MY CARE will be provided.
Other requirements
- Applicants must be at least 18 to volunteer in this role.
- Training: undertake all relevant online training for the role and comply with instructions.
- Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 3 hours of volunteering on the same day every week.
- Application requirements: Standard Disclosure & Barring Service check
For more information please see our MY CARE Champion Volunteer Role Description.
North Devon Roles:
Dementia Support Volunteer
You would be working alongside clinical staff in the Fortescue Ward. You will provide an extra dimension to care by providing social support for patients with dementia and their carers, which also includes the Dementia Café and Carers Group.
Location: Every day on Fortescue Ward, NDDH. The Café is on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month from 2pm-4pm. The Carers group is on the last Wednesday of each month from 6pm-8pm.
Other requirements
- Applicants must be at least 18 to volunteer in this role
- Full participation in training and skills update sessions is an essential part of volunteering
- Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 2 hours of volunteering every week.
- Application requirements: Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check with Adult Barring List.
For more information please see our Dementia Support Volunteer Role Description
Meet and Greet - NDDH
Arriving at the hospital can be a scary time for many of our patients. The aim of our Meet and Greet volunteers is to ease that anxiety with a friendly welcome to the building. As part of the wider Patient Support team, you will direct people to the correct parts of the hospital and help them to get there if needed.
Location: North Devon District Hospital
Other requirements
- Applicants must be at least 18 to volunteer in this role.
- Training: undertake all relevant online training for the role and comply with instructions
- Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 3 hours of volunteering every week.
- Application requirements: Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check with Adult Barring List.
For more information please see our Meet and Greet Volunteer Role Description.
Pressure Ulcer Prevention Volunteer
We would really love to have a team of volunteers to start conversations with patients and their visitors to encourage them to move more whilst they are in hospital. The greatest cause of pressure damage is lack of movement which reduces blood supply to areas such as the bottom and the heels. The aim of this role is to raise awareness and get people moving.
Location: Alex Ward, NDDH
Other requirements
- Applicants must be at least 18 to volunteer in this role.
- Pressure Ulcer Prevention training – to be delivered by the Tissue Viability team.
- Selection of online videos and written information will be sent out as pre-learning.
- Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 2-3 hours of volunteering every week.
- Application requirements: Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check with Adult Barring List.
For more information please see our Pressure Ulcer Prevention Volunteer Role Description.
Ward Support Volunteer - Tarka and Roborough
The prime role of the ward support volunteer is to be part of a dedicated ward team, offering support to staff and non-medical assistance to patients accessing our services. You will need to be friendly, welcoming and pro-active and have the ability to remain calm in a busy environment.
Location: Tarka and Roborough Ward, North Devon District Hospital
Other requirements
- Applicants must be at least 18 to volunteer in this role.
- Pressure Ulcer Prevention training – to be delivered by the Tissue Viability team.
- Selection of online videos and written information will be sent out as pre-learning.
- Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 2-3 hours of volunteering every week.
- Application requirements: Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check with Adult Barring List.
For more information please see our Ward Support Volunteer role description.
Patient Safety Partner
Are you looking for a flexible role that allows you to contribute to healthcare improvement on your own schedule? We have an exciting opportunity for two Patient Safety Partners to join our team. This is a new and flexible role, allowing us to accommodate the hours that suit you. It is likely to be mainly on Teams however, there will be some on-site visits as part of induction and orientation to the RDUH. What is a Patient Safety Partner (PSP)?. A patient safety partner is a new role developed by NHS England, which recognises a growing body of work, of the contributions that involving patients, carers and their families across all levels of healthcare can make to improving patient safety and experience. To enable the hospital to value, listen and to work in partnership with staff to influence and improve the governance and leadership of safety within an NHS organisation.
We are looking for enthusiastic, proactive individuals with a keen interest in healthcare improvement, strong written and spoken communication skills, and a commitment to “patient-centred safety” working alongside staff, volunteers, patients, and families. A PSP is actively involved in the design of safer healthcare at all levels in the Trust. This may include safety governance, considering how safety issues should be addressed, providing appropriate challenge to ensure learning and change can be turned into quality improvement leading to strategy and policy development.
We welcome candidates from all backgrounds, including those who have lived or family experiences with healthcare services
Other requirements
- • Applicants must be at least 18 years to volunteer in this role.
• Live, work or study within Devon or have a good knowledge of health and social care in the county
• Training: undertake all relevant online training for the role and comply with instructions
• Commitment: We ask for a minimum of 6 hours of volunteering every week.
For more information, please see our Patient Safety Partner role description.
Fern Centre:
If you are interested in any of these opportunities please contact Tara on rduh.theferncentre@nhs.net or 01271 3118.
Meet and Greet - NDDH
The Fern Centre is open to all people who are living with a cancer diagnosis – past or present – and aims to be able to provide holistic care, support, advice and information to our visitors.
As a complementary therapist volunteer, you will be responsible for providing a professional, safe, compassionate and caring complementary therapy treatment in line with the Fern Centre policies and guidelines. Each volunteer will be assigned a caseload of clients which may be cancer patients undergoing treatment, patients living with and beyond cancer, relatives or carers, to provide one to one therapy treatments. Our clients are entitled to up to 6 sessions of complementary therapy and all follow ups will be kept with their assigned therapist. All potential clients who are currently undergoing cancer treatment will require clinical approval prior to commencing complementary therapy. The Fern Centre team will ensure this approval is obtained so volunteers can be confident they are acting safely within their volunteer roles. All volunteers must uphold the values of the Fern Centre and the Trust, treating all visitors with kindness and respect.
For more information please see our complementary therapy services volunteer role description.