‘Unsung heroes’ of volunteer army not given enough tasks to do
THE NHS volunteer army has carried out only 250,000 tasks, it has emerged, despite 600,000 people being approved to help the most vulnerable people during the pandemic.
NHS England and the Royal Voluntary Service revealed the figure to mark Volunteers’ Week, as the Duchess of Cornwall paid tribute to the “unsung heroes”. The NHS programme has faced criticism, with volunteers complaining of waiting for more than 300 hours with no tasks to do.
More than 750,000 people signed up within a week of its launch, with 600,000 approved to carry out tasks such as delivering groceries and prescriptions, driving people to medical appointments, and making “check in and chat” telephone calls.
The scheme is now averaging 7,000 tasks a day, according to the RVS, with 98 per cent of requests for help being delivered within 24 hours. The NHS and the RVS are urging those who need support to get in touch.
The Duchess of Cornwall, who is the president of the RVS, likened the response of the volunteers to the spirit of “unsung heroism” displayed by Land Girls during the Second World War.
The Duchess said: “Last month, I had the great pleasure of speaking to a lady on the telephone who had worked with a group of Land Girls during the Second World War. We spoke of the quiet acts of heroism – both on the front line and at home – that brought about a great victory for us all.
“We now live in a very different world. Yet as we pull together to overcome Covid-19, we see the same spirit at work: unsung heroism on the front line and at home.
“The past weeks have seen a surge in volunteering, the like of which few will be able to recall,” she added.
“This makes me incredibly proud of our country and of our national willingness to step forward to help in these very challenging times.”
Over the past few weeks the Duchess, along with the Duchess of Cambridge, the Countess of Wessex and the Duchess of Gloucester, have joined the ranks of Volunteer Responders, taking part in “check in and chat” calls with the vulnerable and elderly.
Catherine Johnstone, the RVS chief executive, said: “We want to say a huge thank you to all the NHS Volunteer Responders ‘on call’ across the country and to our Royal Voluntary Service volunteers, many of whom have been supporting their community and the NHS for decades.
“Volunteering has never been so critical and our volunteers … make a huge difference and give many people a much needed safety net.”