Your community needs you – NHS call for volunteer army
This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments where a single action from one person can be the difference between life and death for another, and simple acts of kindness are going to make all the difference in keeping some of the most vulnerable people well and out of hospital.
The NHS is “rallying the troops” for the war on coronavirus, with volunteers being called up to help vulnerable people stay safe and well at home.
The nation is looking for 250,000 volunteers to help up to 1.5 million people who have been asked to shield themselves from coronavirus because of underlying health conditions.
You can join the volunteer army and help out with simple but vital tasks including:
- delivering medicines from pharmacies;
- driving patients to appointments;
- bringing them home from hospital;
- or making regular phone calls to check on people isolating at home.
Join the team of NHS volunteers
It doesn’t take long, and you aren’t committed to anything more than what you can do.
Give blood
The need for blood never stops. The government have classed giving blood as ‘essential travel’ with extra safety measures put in place for the public and staff donating their time, blood and platelets.
As with many areas of health and social care, COVID-19 has resulted in some changes including:
- If you have had coronavirus infection you must wait for 14 days from when your symptoms settled.
- If you have been in contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus, you may donate as long as you have not been asked to isolate and you remain well. If you do donate it is very important you let them know if you develop symptoms of coronavirus at a later date.
- Due to government guidelines people aged 70 or over and those in vulnerable health are currently unable to donate.
For more information and for more updates on giving blood and coronavirus please visit the NHS website.
A great community effort
Healthwatch Bracknell Forest, in partnership with their local authority and local community and voluntary sector organisations, have been pulling together a number of volunteers and local groups to combat the COVID-19 effort in their community. With the full needs of the community still unknown, the group have been getting ahead of the game in preparing people for the range of activities and support they can provide to the more vulnerable groups.
So far the team have set up 15 areas to provide support for people in need, made up of around 1400 volunteers. Well done everyone!
