You can apply through Better Impact here. On this site there is also a lot more information about the current roles we are recruiting for.

Minimum age: Volunteers must be aged 16 or older.

If you are aged 16-17 (or 18 if still in sixth form/college) you will need to volunteer through our youth volunteering programme. Applicants must live or study in the London Boroughs of Camden, Islington or Westminster, or be children of UCLH staff. All placements are for a minimum of three months.

Please note that we do not offer work experience.

Do you live over an hour away? If you have a journey time of more than one hour to get to us, we find that it makes it harder to sustain a regular commitment and can prove expensive to volunteer. Currently we can only refund the cost of a zone 1-3 return. If you live more than an hour away we encourage you to volunteer at your local hospital.

Is hospital volunteering right for you? Before applying, it is important to consider that volunteering can be an emotionally demanding experience. If you are currently or have recently been coping with a medical diagnosis, either as a patient, family member, or close friend, this may not be the best time for you to volunteer with us. In particular if you or someone you are close to has been affected by cancer, we ask that you wait for two years before applying.

This department does not offer work experience, internships or clinical placements. All the voluntary opportunities we offer tend to be for one or more sessions for a minimum period of six to 12 months.

If you are aged 16-18 and wanting work experience please contact our learning and development team.

  1. Apply online: If applying online is difficult for you, please contact us.
  2. Information session and telephone chat: You will be invited to attend a group online information session. In this session we will explain what it's like to volunteer at UCLH and discuss the types of roles we currently have. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask questions. We will then give you a call to find out if volunteering at UCLH would work for you.
  3. Complete online checks (NHS ID, DBS, Occupational Health, and references): If you meet our criteria in the telephone chat, you will need to send us copies of ID for an NHS ID check and DBS check. You will also need to complete an occupational health check and provide evidence of your vaccination history. And we ask for the names of two references.
  4. Online volunteer induction: All patient-facing volunteers must complete online eLearning. This covers all aspects of volunteering at UCLH, including topics such as infection control and different scenarios you may encounter. All volunteers complete core skills NHS eLearning.
  5. 1-1 Induction: Once all your checks have cleared and you have completed your training, we will arrange for your 1-1 induction. This is where you will meet your new supervisor and be trained in your role. This may include shadowing other volunteers and completing other online learning modules.
  6. Start volunteering!

On average, from being accepted it takes about 4-6 weeks to start volunteering.

Your volunteering with us will be conditional on mandatory checks which we aim to complete as quickly as possible. These checks have to be completed before you can start your volunteering. These include:

  • Identity checks
    You will be asked to bring Identity documents with you to the induction. These documents also help us complete a disclosure and barring check (DBS).
  • DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service)
    Volunteers prior to attending the induction will be asked to complete an online DBS application. To do this, we’ll provide you with a link in your invite letter. It is important to keep a record of your reference number. Please note how having a criminal record does not automatically exclude you from volunteering as everyone is considered on a case by case basis. If you would like to discuss your situation before applying please do get in touch.
  • Occupational health
    ​​​​​​​​​​All volunteers in patient facing roles must complete an Occupational Health check to ensure that they are fit for their role. As part of this you will need to ensure certain vaccinations, including chicken pox and measles, are in place and provide evidence of these. You may be asked to visit our occupational health department to gain clearance. The team is here to support you with this.
  • References
    Volunteers will be asked to provide details of two referees in the application form. These are people that have known you for over a year in a professional capacity. Getting references back from referees can sometimes take a while. To help us to do this quickly, please let your referees know that you have been offered a volunteering role and that we will be emailing them as this can really help speed things up.