There are currently 77,000 NHS volunteers who help with things like chatting to patients while they wait for surgery, collecting medication from pharmacies and playing board games with care home residents. Tasks range from just chatting to collecting medicinesWhile some of the NHS volunteers do things like supporting ambulance crews with first aid, they do not replace existing NHS roles and the volunteer army allows more time for trained staff to focus on their clinical work. The Government’s 10-year health plan, launched earlier this year, also set out ambitions to expand community care through volunteer and voluntary sector engagement. Alan said: “[The hospital] really looked after my wife, so I decided to apply to become a volunteer. “My advice to any volunteer would be to just put yourself out there and take it all as it comes.