This week, North East Ambulance Service’s volunteers received a visit from National Strategic Lead for Volunteering at the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives (AACE), Helen Vine.
Recognised as an organisation that invests in volunteers, North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) has over 240 volunteers who selflessly dedicate thousands of hours of their time to their communities, playing a vital role in helping the trust deliver high quality patient care.
Last year, NEAS community first responders (CFRs), porters and ambulance car service drivers (ACS) transported 90,000 patients to and from hospital appointments covering a total of 3,563,000 miles; they spent 2,500 hours support patients to reach the right hospital department or their transport home, as well as attending 576 medical incidents in the community.
During the visit, Helen met the team who coordinate volunteers for the service, as well as some of the volunteers themselves. She said:
Ambulance volunteers have given their time and skills in clinical and non-clinical roles for over two decades; they enhance the care we offer to patients, support our staff and are positive ambassadors for the ambulance service in their communities.
Helen Vine has worked in the ambulance sector and in health and social care regulation for over 17 years. She has extensive personal experience as a volunteer and in volunteer leadership roles within the ambulance sector and beyond.
Her role at AACE was to introduce processes that are consistent across all ambulance trusts to ensure that best practice is maintained and delivered. Over the past year the volunteer development team has been working in partnership to ensure that the delivery set out by AACE is implemented.
Volunteer Development Manager at NEAS, Beverley Smith, said:
The opportunity for Helen to visit NEAS allowed us to demonstrate how our policies and process are being implemented, observing our challenges and how we are moving forward as an organisation.
We were delighted to host this visit and shine a light on the fantastic work our volunteers do each day.
Read more about the different roles at www.neas.nhs.uk
Learn more about the National Ambulance Volunteering Strategy here.
If you have considered volunteering for NEAS or you are looking for a change or have spare time and want to make a difference, please contact the volunteering team at volunteer.development.team@neas.nhs.uk.
