Volunteers have an important role to play in the NHS and this year Southport and Ormskirk hospitals took steps to further enhance their skills.

Jamie Johnson, 19, from Southport, was one of seven volunteers who took advantage of an eight-week Volunteer Improvement Programme (VIP), specially designed by Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust and funded by NHS England.

The former student at Southport’s KGV College is taking a gap year before going to study accounting and finance at university. He’s been hospital bleep volunteer since last summer.

Jamie said the VIP course was “very interesting” and included lots of transferable skills, such as one module around emotional intelligence.

Volunteering with the Trust means you can:

• Give something back to your local community
• Make a real difference to patients, their families, friends and relatives
• Meet new people
• Learn new skills and improve your CV
• Do something different and have fun!

We have lots of opportunities available. If you know someone who would be interested, check our the volunteering section of this website.