Volunteering

Are you interested in becoming a volunteer? Do you want to help your local hospital or gain experience in a hospital setting? Do you want to give your time supporting the NHS?

We are looking for volunteers to help us across the hospital in new volunteering roles. Our opportunities are wide ranging and support clinical staff and patients in a variety of ways.

If you have ever visited or stayed at Derriford Hospital the chances are you will have come into contact with one of our volunteers. You may have been helped by a vaccination hub volunteer, chatted to a discharge lounge volunteer, been shown the way by a meet and greet volunteer, bought something in one of our Leagues of Friends’ shops, or simply listened to Hospital Radio.

As a Trust volunteer you’ll gain a unique insight into hospital life, receive relevant training (both of which will be great for your CV or life experience), as well as being a valuable part of our #1BigTeam.

In return we ask you to be reliable and committed, attending regularly for at least six months. Our minimum age for roles is 16 unless specified, but we have no upper age limit.

Current roles and opportunities - click "Apply now" to see what is available

Please note that we are closing recruitment for most roles in February and March 2023. We will reopen to new volunteers in April. Thank you for your patience, we are looking forward to welcoming you to the team. 

We cannot accept applications for general volunteering. Unfortunately, due to demand, we are not able to accept everyone who applies but we will make every effort to match your experience, interests and availability to our current vacancies.

For any questions, please contact plh-tr.volunteerenquiry@nhs.net

How do I become a volunteer?

Following interview, if you are selected for a role, the application process will continue and include a request for two references, health clearance (Health Declaration 2021.pdf [pdf] 150KB) from our occupational health team and, for most roles, completion of a full Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.