Northumbria NHS volunteer service celebrates Volunteers’ Week 2025

Northumbria NHS volunteer service celebrates Volunteers’ Week 2025

June 2 – 8 is Volunteers’ Week, a nationwide celebration, recognising the impact that volunteers have on their community.

Volunteers play a huge role at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, with over 400 volunteers contributing to enhance the patient experience.

The Northumbria Volunteer Service (NVS), which is part of Bright Northumbria Healthcare Charity, is proud to have so many volunteers in a number of roles around the trust.

Some will meet and greet patients and visitors at the main entrance, some will help to run the five volunteer cafes around the trust – in which all of the profits return to the charity – making a huge difference to patients, visitors, and staff.

Volunteers may give their time, but gain great opportunities in return, like free access to on-site gyms, celebration evenings, and wellbeing checks – proving how much value they bring to the service and trust itself.

One volunteer said: “As volunteers we all feel very valued. There’s so much stuff that we have access to.

“I enjoy going to the gym before my shift and I get all the wellbeing stuff that staff have access to, for example, health MOTs, vaccines, and we can visit the clinics team.

“I feel we are very well looked after, we are very appreciated, and the staff are so supportive.”

If you’re interested in volunteering at your local hospital, get in touch with the team.