
Website Involvenottshc Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Care Dog Volunteer – Rampton Hospital
Under the guidance of the Involvement, Experience & Volunteering Team and in partnership with Occupational Therapy staff, the Dog volunteer will provide an opportunity for patients to meet a registered dog and to engage in one-to-one contact in a safe environment.
Location
- Rampton Hospital.
Time commitment:
To be negotiated with Involvement, Experience & Volunteering Team and the hospital/unit staff. We ask for a minimum commitment of at least six months
Key tasks:
- Supervises, instructs, encourages and interacts with patients as they participate.
- Alerts unit staff to any issues of concern
- Welcomes any patients/visitors
- Provide dog activities and support where necessary.
Desired skills and experience:
- Pet to be Insured and up to date with all required vaccinations
- Experience of volunteering/working with Mental Health, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
- Listening skills
- Sensitive and tactful nature
- Emotionally mature
- Compassionate
- Reliable and trustworthy
- Understanding of and the ability to learn personal/professional boundaries
- Dog Charity registered
- We are particularly keen to recruit someone who has experience of British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate with our deaf patients.
Important Information – please read before applying
DBS
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions. If successfully shortlisted for this role, you will be sent an invite to interview and links to complete an online DBS check.
Travel
Please note that Rampton Hospital is remote and is difficult to reach using public transport. Please be aware of this before applying and consider how you will be able to get to the hospital. We can help with travel expenses and can reimburse mileage up to 30 miles from your usual home address to Rampton including the return journey. If you will be travelling via other means, please contact us before applying so that we can discuss this with you.
Interviews/Training and Induction
Interviews are taking place on Friday 13th October in person or via MS Teams.
Links to online training which must be completed before the role starts and you will be expected to attend our Staff and Volunteer Induction. Dates to be confirmed.
Any questions?
If you had any questions about the role, the application process or about volunteering with us, get in touch and we’d be happy to help.
Email: volunteering@nottshc.nhs.uk
Call: 0800 052 1415
What Nottinghamshire Healthcare offers volunteers:
Support
All volunteers in Nottinghamshire Healthcare are supported by a dedicated team of staff and each volunteer will have a named person within the Volunteering Team as their point of contact. If volunteers are within services, they will also have a named staff member within the service itself. We offer provide regular supervisions with each volunteer to help review their support, their training and their voluntary role. We offer reimbursement of out of pocket expenses, as detailed in expenses policy. References can also be provided after six months of volunteering
Training & Development
We offer support in completing the National Volunteer Certificate and offer further development and training opportunities that are available.
You will also receive an induction to Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as well as a local induction to the service/placement location.
Community
We’re proud of our community of volunteers that we support throughout Nottinghamshire Healthcare. They are integrated into staff teams and within our services with patients and carers. Our Involvement Centres act as hubs for their work, training and events. We also offer an online NottsHC Volunteer Hub to further support and nurture our community of volunteers.
How to Apply
New Volunteer Applicants:
All new volunteer applicants for this role must complete and return a Registration Form. Completed forms can be emailed back to the Volunteering Team Volunteering@NottsHC.nhs.uk or sent via post to the DMH Involvement Centre, Duncan MacMillan House, Porchester Road, Mapperley, Nottingham, NG3 6AA
- Volunteer Registration Form (PDF Form) (opens in new window)
- Volunteer Registration Form (Printable) (opens in new window)
Current Nottinghamshire Healthcare Volunteers:
If you already volunteer with us, please complete the Expression of Interest Form and return to the Volunteering Team. Completed forms can be emailed back to the Volunteering Team volunteering@nottshc.nhs.uk or sent to one of the Involvement Centres.
- Expression of Interest Form (PDF Form) (opens in new window)
- Expression of Interest Form (printable) (opens in new window)