Expand volunteer programme to bolster NHS workforce, charity says
More than 23,000 healthcare positions could be filled in the coming years if the Government commits to ramping up a scheme that gives young people access to NHS careers through volunteer roles, according to a charity.
The move could help with staffing problems in the health service as well as slashing the cost of relying on agencies that supply temporary staff, experts said.
The Volunteer to Career programme has been piloted by the charity Helpforce in 48 NHS organisations across England.
It provides training, mentorship and support to help volunteers transition to professional roles.
Helpforce is now urging the Government to consider the scheme as part of its upcoming 10 Year Health Plan, claiming it could help fill around 23,600 frontline vacancies and related study placements by the end of the current Parliament in 2029.
According to the charity, around 107,000 NHS secondary care roles in England are vacant and the annual cost of using agency and bank staff has topped £10 billion.
Amerjit Chohan, chief executive of Helpforce, said: 'The success of the Volunteer to Career programme to date has been significant.
'Together with our partners in NHS trusts and other organisations, we've helped people who are interested in healthcare careers but don't have a background in the field to gain valuable experience before applying for paid roles.
'Through expertly designed and structured pathways, volunteers can find their niche without the immediate pressure of employment, while being upskilled and given confidence to take into job interviews.
'Since we launched the pilot initiative in 2022, hundreds of people have taken part, with 55% of them successfully transitioning from volunteering roles to paid careers in healthcare or associated courses – such as in nursing and midwifery.
'Our analysis shows that with the right investment, there's clear potential to supersize the opportunity, with conservative capacity for each of the 215 NHS trusts in England to support an average of 50 volunteers annually.
'We urge the Government to consider Volunteer to Career expansion within its upcoming NHS 10-Year Health Plan, unleashing the potential of home-grown healthcare talent.'
It comes after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer set out a number of measures to help bring down immigration on Monday.
The White Paper includes plans to end care worker visas for overseas recruitment.
Think tanks the King's Fund and the Health Foundation have backed Helpforce's call to the Government.
Dr Jennifer Dixon, Health Foundation chief executive, said the results of the pilot have been 'significant' and scaling it up ' has to be worthy of serious consideration by a government that's eager to get people back to work'.
Sarah Woolnough, chief executive of the King's Fund, added: 'At a time when the NHS is severely stretched and tackling long-standing and chronic workforce shortages, Helpforce is doing excellent, innovative work to support volunteers to explore opportunities for an NHS career.
'To implement Volunteer to Career on a mass scale would require strategic investment in volunteer managers across NHS Trusts, but such investment would likely be cost-effective when set against paying high fees to agencies that supply temporary staff and helping to reduce the health services' reliance on recruiting large numbers of healthcare staff from overseas.'
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