Volunteers in Hospice and Palliative Care (2^nd Ed.) A Resource for Voluntary Service Managers

The book provides comprehensive, practical guidelines on the responsibilities of those who lead, co-ordinate and manage volunteers in small hospices, large specialist palliative care units, and in general hospitals with palliative care teams. Volunteers are key workers, who often perform difficult and important work. In the United Kingdom alone there are thousands of volunteers in hospice work, a small proportion doing work with patients, and the vast majority doing equally valuable work such as driving, sitting with relatives, manning charity shops and telephones. As a result, Europe, Australia, the United States and Canada are very interested in the United Kingdom's use of volunteers. Aimed primarily at Voluntary Services Managers in small hospices, large specialist palliative care units, and in general hospitals with palliative care teams, this updated second edition covers volunteer selection, training, supervision and support, and legal and ethical considerations. Information is presented in an easily accessible way, using key points, summary panels and checklists. This book will also appeal to the volunteers themselves.

1. Introduction. 2. Setting the scene: the landscape of volunteering. 3. The management role of the Voluntary Services Manager. 4. Considering Quality and Measuring Impact. 5. The selection of volunteers. 6. The training and education of volunteers. 7. The support of volunteers. 8. Volunteering and legal issues. 9. Professionals working as volunteers. 10. Ethical Issues for VSMs in Hospice Care. 11. Volunteers working in a bereavement service. 12. Volunteers in a Children's Hospice. 13. Volunteers working in a comprehensive palliative care service in Australia. 14. Volunteers working in a community palliative care service. 15. Volunteers working in a tertiary referral teaching hospital. 16. Neighbourhood Network in Palliative Care, Kerala, India. Glossary. Index.

Ros Scott has spent her career in cancer and palliative care, having trained originally as a Therapeutic Radiographer. She joined CHAS in 1996 as a Volunteer Co-ordinator, becoming Head of Voluntary Services and Director of Organisational Development in 2007. As director of Organisational Development she has responsibility for Human Resources, Voluntary Services, Learning and Development, Organisational Policy and Change Management. She remains passionate about raising the profile of volunteering and the development of voluntary services in hospices and is recognised for her research and publication in this field. Previously Chair of the Help the Hospices Advisory Panel on Volunteering and the Association of Voluntary Services Managers (the professional association for hospice VSMs), she currently chairs the Association of Children's Hospices Volunteer Managers' Forum.