Volunteer with us - make a difference

Volunteers enhance the quality of life for the people who use our services, and we are keen for people from all sections of the local community to be involved in our work.

We value the contribution of volunteers as an integral part of the services we provide:

• Services for people with Learning Disabilities
• Mental health services for people of all ages in the community and in hospital
• Drug and alcohol services
• Specialist Services such as eating disorders and health psychology

You might become a volunteer for one of many reasons – perhaps to help gain experience before applying for a job in a particular field or because you have recently retired and are looking for ways to keep busy and give something back into their community.

Previous residents or users of our health services sometimes return to us as volunteers, which can be a really useful way of regaining lost confidence or gaining experience before returning to employment.

Your questions answered

What are looking for in a volunteer?

As you will be representing our organisation, you should be:

• Reliable and flexible
• Have a non-judgemental attitude
• Understand the importance of patient confidentiality
• Trustworthy and reliable

For some jobs our volunteers are given necessary job-specific training or need to show they have the relevant skills, experience or interest in the job.

For all roles you must be at least either 16 or 18 (depending on the type of volunteering you wish to do) and there is no fixed upper age limit.

You can volunteer with us if you receive Jobseekers Allowance as long as you remain available for work.

What type of work can I do?

At any given time we have a wide range of voluntary roles in a number of different locations. The hours and days of work offered vary from unit to unit and from job to job.

If you have a specific voluntary role in mind then mention it in your initial application to us and we will try to match you up with a role. If you are flexible about the type of work you can do then we will discuss all available options with you when you contact us and try to find you a suitable role.

Will I be out of pocket?

Volunteers are entitled to the reimbursement of expenses you have to pay as a result of your volunteering activities, so that might include travel costs from your home to where you do your voluntary work.

Get in touch

Please tell us about your skills, the kind of roles you would be interested in applying for and the amount of time your would be able to give.

We will then tell you about the latest roles we have available.

You can e-mail volunteers@sabp.nhs.uk, or write to Katherine Rogers, Involvement and Employment Manager, at:

Next steps

You'll need to pass an Enhanced Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Disclosure and supply two references before you can start volunteering with us because most of the roles will involve contact with vulnerable adults. We will also need to see original documents that provide evidence of your identity and address.

These security checks are designed to protect the safety of people who use our services and usually take at least three months from the time your placement is confirmed. You won't be able to start until they have been completed, so please think about this when stating your availability.

Details can be found on the CRB section of the Direct Gov website.