Nesta charity report examines importance of volunteers

Innovation charity Nesta has published a report on the evaluation of the Helping in Hospitals programme, which looked at the impact of volunteers on helping to transform care for patients and carers.

The programme found statistically significant results in several areas including overall patient experience, mood, anxiety levels, nutrition and hydration, and releasing nurse time to care.

The report also described how hospitals can take a more strategic approach towards volunteering and how its impact can be measured through rigorous evaluation.