Our volunteer roles

Blue Skies Hospital Fund is the charity for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals. We support the best in patient care and medical research for Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre.

We are seeking volunteers to help in our shop and with trolley service that operates throughout the hospital and can commit to a minimum of three hours volunteering a week.

The Blue Skies shop is in the Outpatient area of Blackpool Victoria Hospital and is open 9am to 4pm on weekdays. Our shop is a great destination for staff, patients and visitors looking for a refreshment whilst at the hospital.

Our trolleys travel around the hospital providing patients with refreshments during their stay. Trolleys go out in the mornings and the afternoons.

For further information or to find out if this role is for you contact:

• Jess Lonsdale, Office and Retail Manager, 01253 957903
• Lily Norman, Office and Retail Administrator, 01253 952502

Check out our website and social media to see what we are all about!

The Chaplaincy Team seeks to be available to those in need of spiritual support during their stay in hospital. We offer help in a gentle, non-judgemental and unobtrusive manner. Chaplaincy volunteers are a long established and valued part of hospital life. Drawn from a wide variety of local faith communities, chaplaincy volunteers assist the hospital Chaplains through their support and visits to patients, their relatives and friends.

Debbie Wood, a volunteer in the Chaplaincy Department said: “It is a privilege and very humbling to see people and to be a listening ear to patients at their bedside. We give comfort and prayer, if they want it, and it is a very rewarding role.”

If you would like more information about the chaplaincy team, or would like to learn more about the role of our volunteers, please telephone the department on 01253 303876 or 01253 306299.

Provide refreshments in the Emergency Department at Blackpool Victoria Hospital on a rota.

FAB provides a breastfeeding peer support service within Blackpool and Central Lancashire. We have established a valued service with mothers; their families and partner health professionals.  Our aim is to promote social and cultural acceptance of breastfeeding and infant feeding support in local communities and to ensure local peer support schemes are available in communities so that mothers can access timely support. This will be achieved by providing community postnatal infant feeding support through trained peer supporters working, alongside midwifery and health visiting teams, to enhance the breastfeeding support available to women.

The role of a Volunteer Fundraiser is to help raise money and awareness of the Trust charity, Blue Skies Hospitals Fund. This could be by assisting at pre-organised charity events, inspiring others to run events in support of the charity, distributing Blue Skies publications and information, or collecting and distributing charity collection boxes in the community.

A flexible commitment is available and we ask that you volunteer for a minimum of six months.

This is a great chance for the community to get involved with their local hospital charity, helping to support enhanced care to patients across Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre, and beyond.

Volunteer Health Mentors provide information to patients and visitors in both waiting areas and on the wards about how to live a healthy lifestyle, and assist individuals to access services within the hospital and their local community.  Volunteer Health Mentors also provide information to staff and help organise and support the promotion of National public health campaigns such as Stoptober, Mental Health Awareness week and Nutrition and Hydration week amongst many others.

Information is predominantly shared on the topics of; healthy eating, staying active, stopping smoking, the importance of consuming alcohol at low risk levels and tips to boosting mental wellbeing.

The purpose of the Influence Panel is to ensure that the patient/carer voice is heard when the Trust is developing new ideas and projects across Blackpool Teaching Hospitals, ensuring that a wide range of patient views are heard when developing new ideas.

The Influence Panel offer advice and support to staff on a range of topics relating to clinical practice, education, policy, leaflet and poster design.  The Panel meets virtually and face to face.   
 

The League of Friends Charity operate the Clifton patient trolley service which visits multiple wards with refreshments at Clifton, with all monies raised going back into Clifton Hospital

The purpose of the listener is to complement the work of the Patient Engagement Team by supporting them to improve the way patients and carers are treated in clinical areas.

Listener volunteers provide an invaluable service, talking at length with patients, asking them questions to identify if they have any concerns about their care which need addressing.

The listeners report their findings to the Patient Engagement Team who will immediately talk with the service managers and take appropriate action, if necessary; to ensure a patients stay is as comfortable as possible. 
 

You can volunteer in three areas with Macmillan:

• Area helper: volunteers helping the Macmillan team on the unit with leaflets
• Cancer buddy: contact patients via phone calls, the team put patients in touch with ex patients who have gone through the same diagnoses they have one-to-one contact
• Cancer carer buddy: contact carers via phone calls, the team put patients in touch with carers who have gone through the same diagnoses with a loved one. To support the provision of one-to-one contact

The role of a Navigator is to be the first point of contact for patients and visitors entering the Hospital. Navigators greet people at key entrances to the Hospital and assist them to make their visit as trouble-free as possible.

Denys Barber, who has volunteered in various roles at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for seven years, said: “Being a Navigator is very fulfilling. You get to save people time in what can be a very stressful environment. It is a nice feeling knowing that you can give reassurance when it’s needed; it’s a very rewarding role.”

Deliver blood samples from Macmillan to the Pathology lab  to cut down waiting times in Macmillan outpatients.

Dogs and their owners registered with Pets as Therapy who visit patients and staff.

The role of a PLACE support volunteer is to enhance the patient experience by carrying out audits on the wards, departments and areas.

These audits are specifically related to improving the environment / services for our patients which are linked to national PLACE audits.

The role may include some or all of the following activities:

• Audits of the clinical food service at ward levels
• Patient satisfaction audits with regard to the environment or services provided from facilities
• Volunteer member of mini PLACE assessments as a patient representative
• Volunteer member of annual PLACE assessments as a patient representative
• Environmental audits in public areas/entrances
• Audits within the main entrance associated with car parking, travel and healthy eating
   

Act as proof-readers of all Trust literature from home before it is reproduced for distribution to patients.

An under 16s group that meet monthly at the hospital, they take part in additional work in between meetings- things such as interviewing new staff, delivering training to doctors and nurses, and helping the Trust with health campaigns.

Volunteer in wards and departments to enhance patient care.

Collect discarded wheelchairs from in and around the hospital and ensure they are at all wheelchair bays evenly throughout the hospital.