Volunteering Week: a big thank you!

We're incredibly fortunate to have a team of volunteers who commit their own time to supporting us in a variety of ways. Every volunteer plays a critical role in championing the voices of patients, carers and their families, and sharing their experiences of health and social care. They help us to influence positive changes in the way those services are delivered.

Our team of Enter and View volunteers support our programme coordinator to carry out Enter and View visits to health and social care settings across Milton Keynes, listening to the experiences of patients and residents. It is because of our volunteers that we're proud to have one of the most active and impactful Enter and View programmes in the country.

We have a growing volunteer team roving about Milton Keynes talking to people in local communities. Colin regularly attends libraries and community larders to listen to residents about how they experience health and care services, and what changes they feel are needed.

Others take an essential 'behind the scenes' role. Hannah volunteers a couple of sessions a week to record all the experiences, compliments and complaints shared with us through our website, over the phone and through surveys. We use this evidence to hold services to account, highlight issues and recommend changes to the way services are designed and delivered.

On behalf of everyone at Healthwatch Milton Keynes and our members, I want to say a massive thank you to all volunteers that give their time to supporting our work.

The more volunteers we have, the more we can achieve together for local residents. We always have space for people keen to influence change for the better: whether it's supporting Enter and View visits, running stalls or listening activities. If you're interested in joining us, do get in touch.