'Our community hospitals help people get back on their feet'
It comes as the Health and Social Care Secretary is set to gather ministers, clinical leaders and health experts for the next NHS Recovery Summit
Last updated 6th Jul 2023
Today we’re hearing from staff in community hospitals - as part of our week of features from inside Somerset’s NHS to mark the health service's 75th anniversary.
Tania Collins is the matron of Wincanton and Crewkerne community hospitals
Today a leading national charity is calling for 25,000 more volunteers to provide support for the NHS, as the service marks its 75th anniversary.
The Royal Voluntary Service is aiming to recruit more people for roles in hospital settings and the community, both immediately and over the coming months, to meet the needs of the most vulnerable.
It helps deliver the NHS and Care Volunteers Responders programme on behalf of NHS England, which provides short-term support to people in need through shopping and prescriptions deliveries, friendly phone calls and transporting medical supplies.
The organisation has provided vital, responsive services in public health, social care and wellbeing to aid the NHS since its inception in 1948.
Catherine Johnstone, chief executive of the Royal Voluntary Service, said: "As we mark 75 years of the NHS, we want to thank all the extraordinary volunteers who have supported the NHS since it began. Many of them have volunteered with Royal Voluntary Service and they have made a huge difference.
"And what better way to celebrate the NHS's 75th birthday than by becoming part of its incredible volunteer team. Volunteering is a wonderful two-way experience that brings so much joy."
The Royal Voluntary Service originally helped civilians during the Second World War after it was founded as the Women's Voluntary Service in 1938.
Its volunteers in hospitals now provide patient companionship and transport, on-ward exercise sessions, and settlement support following a stay in hospital
It comes as the Health and Social Care Secretary is set to gather ministers, clinical leaders and health experts for the next NHS Recovery Summit in a bid to cut waiting lists and improve care for patients.
Steve Barclay will gather the likes of the chief executive of the NHS, Amanda Pritchard, and NHS England's national director of transformation, Dr Tim Ferris.
Demonstrations during the day will look to showcase how technology is helping transform the care patients receive and consider how to go further in using new technology to improve access across services, as well as increasing the use of NHS 111 and the NHS App.
The roundtable follows on from the Prime Minister's NHS Recovery Forum held in Downing Street in January, where he held discussions about a range of measures such as the expansion of virtual wards and greater use of pharmacies to ease pressures on local practices.
Mr Barclay said: "The NHS is a national treasure and it's important we take the chance to look at its achievements over the last 75 years, take stock of where we are now and look ahead to where we want to be in the future.
"Today's summit is about keeping up momentum to recover health and social care services, by bringing together key experts to share knowledge and arrive at solutions to tackle the key challenges facing the NHS and social care, from embracing innovative AI tools to maximising the full potential of the NHS App for patients.
"I'm focused on improving care for patients through the use of technology to diagnose and treat patients more quickly - delivering on the Government's commitment to cut waiting lists."
The discussions come the day after Health Minister Maria Caulfield acknowledged the number of people waiting for treatment in England is set to increase.
The Prime Minister made cutting NHS waiting lists in England one of his five key priorities in a speech in January, but latest figures show a record 7.4 million people waiting for treatment, up from 7.2 million at the time of the speech.