Volunteers now given chance to join army of helpers
‘Give amazing NHS workers a hand’
SCOTS will finally be given the chance to help battle the coronavirus after Nicola Sturgeon vowed to co-ordinate an army of volunteers.
The First Minister confirmed she will set up a ‘central point’ for volunteers to get involved in efforts to help the NHS and other local services.
It comes after concerns that there had been no central co-ordination in Scotland to take control of the army of volunteers who want to help. In contrast, a campaign in England launched by Health Secretary Matt Hancock attracted 500,000 volunteers in the first 24 hours.
The Daily Mail highlighted concerns yesterday from the Volunteer Scotland charity there was not enough ‘co-ordination, command and control’ north of the Border.
Responding to the concerns, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘People can and are offering their services to the NHS and community efforts. In non-NHS senses these will be co-ordinated by local resilience partnerships.
‘What we are looking at right now is bringing together a central point for people – whatever it is they want to do, whatever their skills are – that they can come and register. But again there will be more information provided on that shortly.’
Asked if there will be a Scotlandwide volunteer drive, Miss Sturgeon told STV’s Scotland Tonight: ‘Yes, there will be. There are a lot of ways to access volunteering opportunities already. We want to make sure there is a national co-ordination.’
She said a national portal would be set up allowing people to register their address and how they can contribute. They will then be directed to where best they can help in their local communities.
When he launched the drive, Mr
Hancock said he wanted people in good health to help the NHS, for shopping, the delivery of medicines and to support vulnerable people who are in self-isolation.
After Mr Hancock launched his appeal, Scots who tried to respond found the scheme was open only to those living in England.
At the time, there was no identical alternative north of the Border.
The Scottish Government has mainly focused on encouraging retired doctors and nurses to return to the NHS and said on Tuesday there have been 3,300 responses.
After Miss Sturgeon’s comments, George Thomson, chief executive of Volunteer Scotland, said: ‘I warmly welcome the First Minister’s announcement of a central point to work alongside the Resilience Partnerships.
This will help co-ordinate and communicate what’s needed.’
Scottish Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs said: ‘As we’ve seen in the past couple of days, there’s a sensational nationwide appetite for this scheme.
‘It’s vital we capture this mood as quickly as possible and give our amazing NHS workers on the front line a helping hand.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We are working with local government to provide a national portal to connect people to what is happening in their local area.’
Meanwhile, the Association of British Insurers has confirmed that people using their own car for voluntary purposes, such as to transport medicine or groceries, do not need to tell their insurer.