King's College London

Earlier this month we published the Final Report from a study of Community First Responders and the ambulance service, and the Policy Briefing from the Volunteers in Adult Social Care project. Here, the authors reflect on the parallels and distinctions to be drawn between these two examinations of volunteering in health and social care.

Two recent research studies from the Unit demonstrate the value of volunteers and volunteering in supporting vulnerable people in very diverse health and social care settings, first those needing an emergency health response and, secondly, those drawing on different types of adult social care. The studies evaluated Community First Responders (CFRs) in the NHS, explored volunteering in care homes, day centres and homecare, and evaluated the expansion of the NHS and Care Volunteer Responders (NHSCVR) Scheme to include adult social care.

Overarching parallels across the work include the altruistic motivations of volunteers, particularly in wanting to give something back to a local community or existing connection, the positive impact of volunteering on care services, paid staff, volunteers and service users, the necessity of a paid role to co-ordinate and manage volunteers, the benefits of defined volunteer roles to manage expectations and boundaries of the volunteer role, and valuing the contribution of volunteers through the national promotion of volunteer roles.

Other findings include the time needed to establish and successfully embed volunteer involvement into existing services and infrastructure in health, social care and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector. In homecare, where there is far less volunteer involvement compared to care homes and day centres, managers and staff remain highly risk averse and call for central guidance. Efforts to scale volunteering at pace through national schemes in the NHSCVR struggled to engage the ASC or VCSE sector effectively. The success of the CFR role is partly reflected in how it has evolved and improved over 25+years.

Key differences include that volunteering in adult social care is broad in its offer, fundamentally relational and volunteer roles need to be flexible to best meet the needs of service users and the service to retain volunteers. The CFR role is defined and involves training. Data collection of volunteering in NHS demonstrates value and impact on NHS service use and savings. Data on volunteering in ASC is minimal and variable.

Recommendations include raising awareness of diverse volunteering roles in health and social care, investing in volunteer coordination, creating sector-specific guidance, supporting local integration of national schemes, and framing volunteering as a complement – not a substitute – for the paid workforce. Further work is needed on improving evidence on cost-benefit.

Learn more

Community First Responders and the ambulance service: news item | project page

Volunteers in Adult Social Care: news item | project page

 Header image: taken from the Volunteers in Adult Social Care study Policy Briefing designed by Nifty Fox Creative.