rb&hArts runs exciting programmes for patients with weekly sessions led by professional artists in singing, music-making, dance and craft. We are looking to recruit friendly, personable volunteers with some creative skills to share.
Roles available
Art collection volunteer
rb&hArts manages a collection of artworks which are displayed in public areas of the hospitals and embedded in clinical spaces to improve the patient experience. As a volunteer, you will be checking the quality of the artworks, checking for damage, and making recommendations for how to improve our art collection. Working with a curator, you could help inform what information is publicly available about the collection to benefit our patients and visitors. This is an ideal role if you have an interest in art and are looking to learn more about the curation of artwork in a hospital.
Arts and crafts practitioner
You will be delivering one-to-one sessions, showing patients how to develop their craft skills while they are on the ward. We welcome any ideas for art and craft activities that you may want to share, but we will also give you a day's training from some of our established craft practitioners before you go onto the ward.
Activity volunteer
You will work alongside our activity co-ordinator to help with the implementation and development of our exciting new activity programme. This is a fun and rewarding patient-facing role which involves varied tasks and responsibilities. We are looking for friendly and enthusiastic people who can engage with patients from diverse backgrounds, support people with communication and/or language needs, and work effectively as part of a team or confidently work on their own.
Heritage volunteer
We are looking for someone to help us collect objects and stories spanning back 20+ years to piece together the people’s heritage at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals. This is especially important and relevant as rb&hArts celebrates its 20th anniversary, and to help our transition to merging with Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. This is a fun, patient and public-facing role, which involves being present at arts, charity, and hospital events, meeting members of staff, patients and their families, and members of our communities. You will receive arts and heritage training, delivered by rb&hArts, St Barts Museum and Archives, and a project curator/historian.
Feedback volunteers
Volunteers are needed to collect feedback from patients about their care at any stage of the patient journey. It is a fun, patient-facing role which requires someone with an excellent bedside manner, good communication skills and high levels of IT proficiency. Training is provided by the Patient and Public Engagement team (PPE).
Green champion
As a green champion, you will receive training in gardening techniques, like mulching, creating your own fertiliser, pruning, bulb planting; and help maintaining the garden spaces around the hospitals (in particular Harefield Hospital). Gardening supports mental and physical health, and in collaboration with the HR department we encourage staff to register for this.
Requirements
Duration of volunteering: 6 months minimum
You will need to supply two references, undertake NHS DBS application along with attending a training session on hospital protocol, safeguarding and infection control.
Before any contact in clinical settings, all volunteers must receive clearance from our Occupational Health (OH) department; this will involve confidentially providing OH with your medical/vaccination history and may mean needing to receive appropriate vaccinations.
Applicants should be aware that processing DBS, training and OH can take up to six to eight weeks due to capacity.
To apply
Email: arts@rbht.nhs.uk Call: 020 7352 8121 x 84087
You can also apply online.
If you are unsure, get in touch with us for a chat. With all the creative programmes we run, there is bound to be something that you will enjoy.
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