Local MP Mary Macleod has highlighted the important role that volunteers play ahead of the eleventh annual National Student Volunteers Week. Mary commented, “National Student Volunteering Week is a great opportunity to highlight how people can get involved in their local community. Earlier this month, at the West Middlesex University Hospital Volunteer Awards, I was struck by the important role that volunteers of all ages play in supporting the community.

Mary spoke about the importance of volunteering during a healthcare debate in the House of Commons. “I recently attended the local volunteering awards in the West Middlesex hospital in my constituency,” she explained to Health Minister Paul Burstow. “Almost 400 volunteers do great work for patients and the hospital. What financial assistance is available to hospitals to support these volunteering projects?” The Minister agreed that there was ‘need for NHS trusts to consider their stance on volunteering’. He added, “Our aim is to make sure that NHS trusts and commissioners of health and social care have the tools and information they need to make good judgments about investing in volunteering. That was the purpose of the volunteering strategy that we published last year.”

In the 2009/10 academic year, students were responsible for over 3 million hours of volunteering across the country. Mary commented, “Of course volunteers are not just students and people of all ages give so much to the community. However National Students Volunteers Week gives us an important opportunity to encourage new people to get involved.”

Notes:

1.            The eleventh annual National Student Volunteering Week takes place February 20 - 26 2012. For more information visit volunteering.org.uk

2.            West Middlesex University Hospital currently has 295 registered volunteers working in over 46 departments and who commit, on an average month, 569.5 hours or service