Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee

Recommendation 70

70 Accepted

The Government and the NHS should consider establishing a volunteer reserve database so that volunteers...

Recommendation
The Government and the NHS should consider establishing a volunteer reserve database so that volunteers who have had appropriate checks can be rapidly called up and deployed in an emergency rather than needing to begin from scratch.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government accepts the recommendation and is exploring options for establishing a volunteer reserve database for rapid deployment in future emergencies. NHS England is collaborating with the Royal Voluntary Service and St John Ambulance to develop rapid volunteer deployment methods.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted
The government accepts this recommendation. The government recognises that volunteers played a vital role in the COVID-19 response and continues to explore options for establishing a volunteer reserve database to enable a rapid call-up and deployment of appropriately checked volunteers in future emergencies. NHS England are working with the Royal Voluntary Service and St John Ambulance to look at how volunteers can be deployed rapidly, building on the work undertaken during the pandemic. The National Voluntary Organisations Forum (NVOF) are also working to encourage people to volunteer through the #Helpforce and #NHSCV hashtags and campaigns.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗