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When ministers set out to recruit an army of 250,000 NHS soldiers and 750,000 signed up, it made headlines around the world and was heralded by Boris Johnson as proof, contrary to Thatcher’s famous phrase, that “society existed.”
However, almost a month later, and only 75,000 tasks had been registered at the end of last week, reaching 100,000 today, many of them repeat trips to the same home, leaving many volunteers confused or upset that they have not yet been completed. has called. .
NHS Voluntary Responders hoped to attract a quarter of a million helpers to provide app-based community support for vulnerable people who isolate themselves against the coronavirus, but the numbers skyrocketed as the scheme caught the imagination of the public.
After a hectic investigation process, 150,000 of the 750,000 initial requests were rejected, leaving 600,000 ready to be implemented. Huge numbers are still waiting for a task to be assigned after weeks of waiting.
Student Sarah Rimmer tweeted April 22: “Registered in the #NHSvolunteer scheme not long ago. I was “active” in the app for approx. 2 weeks now. Nothing happened. I’ve given up. “
She confirmed over the weekend that she was still waiting for first task “I am sick of the situation as I was hoping to be of help during the pandemic, but obviously they had more people than they needed to register and some of us have gone unnoticed.”
The RVS charity, which operates the NHS Voluntary Responders, said it had “a fair amount of incoming referrals” and expected many more in the coming weeks as recent changes to the scheme, including allowing some charities to refer and allowing vulnerable people to directly contact him for help, came into effect.
“Some [volunteers] They are naturally disappointed that they did not receive a call. We constantly check in with them to say, “We are in this for the long haul.” Our key priority is to reach out to all those who need help and support, ”said Rebecca Kennelly, RVS volunteer director.
The organization declined to say how many volunteers had not yet been called in, but said demand and supply of aides could fluctuate in the coming weeks, especially if people began returning to work. “Do we have too many? [volunteers]? This is a crisis. We don’t know what the need will be in the coming weeks and months, “Kennelly said.
Although the RVS believes that the scheme, effectively built from scratch in five weeks, works efficiently and safely, and has “phenomenal coverage” of volunteers in all regions of England, it is aware that there are some areas where references are especially low. He declined to say which ones.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society said that while it welcomed the scheme “as an option,” its members would already have delivery mechanisms for vulnerable patients, and many were nervous about using a scheme to transport medications where volunteers were not fully controlled by security. .
The phenomenal growth of mutual aid groups, which allow vulnerable and isolated people to use neighbors and friends to search for food and medicine, may also have reduced the need for the NHS scheme. There are 4,300 such groups connecting about 3 million people.
Hilary McNevin, 54, South London’s human resources manager, was one of the first NHS responders to receive a task through the application-based scheme in early April. She said: “Some friends of mine have not received any calls. Some receive eight referrals in one week. There are definitely some disappointed people who signed up with all good intentions and haven’t been used. “
McNevin, who said she joined the NHS response plan in order to do something to help: “I was sitting at home feeling a little absurd and desperately wanting to do everything I can,” has received and completed eight tasks that She has enjoyed it, although she expected to be busier.
She said her experience inspired her to volunteer at a local charity. She believed that most of the NHS volunteers were positive about the scheme: “Attitude tends to be‘ if I have not been alert, it means that people [we are helping] It must be nice “.
NHS Voluntary Responders support GPs, pharmacists, and other professionals by performing basic tasks, such as delivering food and medicine to 1.5 million vulnerable people who have been advised to confine themselves to their homes to reduce the risk of contracting the virus.
Johnson called the response to the scheme’s launch a sign of “incredible public spirit.” There was also an increase in the number of people enrolling in local volunteer centers, and the emergence of informal mutual aid groups in the neighborhood.
Paul Reddish, executive director of the Volunteering Matters charity, and chair of the Whitehall volunteer committee, said oversupply was inevitable given the sheer number of people wanting to help, not just through the NHS scheme.
“Until the need is zero, we shouldn’t worry about underutilizing the volunteers. We just need to get to the point where everyone has food. It is not that volunteers are not wanted or needed. The reality is that the number of people has exceeded the need, “he said.
An NHS spokesman said: “The scale of the public response to aid means that the Royal Voluntary Service has been able to organize support for the most vulnerable people and their families, with up to 100,000 tasks already completed and a hotline for those who need help now. What it means The number of volunteers helping their local communities will expand rapidly. People can call RVS at 0808 196 3646 for help with their purchases, pick up recipes, or to chat regularly with a volunteer. “
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