Healthwatch heroes thanked during Volunteers’ Week
Our volunteer team is currently 55-strong, with members across the county and numbers bolstered by 35 new recruits in 2019-20.
Their work is extensive across a wide range of activities, including manning our market stalls and working with local groups and helping raise awareness of our work in their communities. Volunteers also provide support with research and intelligence, helping gather and analyse data relating to services in North Yorkshire.
Volunteer representatives of Healthwatch North Yorkshire have also taken part in work in hospitals across North Yorkshire, including PLACE assessments and posed as “mystery shoppers” to gather information about local services.
Our Young Healthwatch branch is in active development, with new recruits in the 14-25 age bracket ready to bring their own invaluable perspective to our work as the independent champion for people using health and care services.
One of our newest recruits is Jessica Tate, 18, from Norton, who had applied to support us as a social media volunteer. Here she explains her path to volunteering and what attracted her to working with Healthwatch North Yorkshire and supporting people using local services.
Lada Cuinu, Healthwatch North Yorkshire’s Volunteer Officer, said: “This month we’re saying thank you to all our volunteers, including those who have left the team in the last year, not just for their incredible response to the COVID-19 situation but for their work all year round, and it makes our jobs so much easier knowing we can count on your amazing support in future as we tackle the challenges to come.”
