Welsh health board offers volunteering chance for people with learning disabilities

A health board in Wales has become the first in the principality to offer an accessible volunteer recruitment and induction programme specifically for people with learning disabilities who wish to volunteer. Hywel Dda Health Board’s volunteering service ‘Volunteering for Health’ scheme is now fully accessible.

All the volunteer information including application forms, role descriptions and the induction programme have been redesigned using symbols. The induction course is undertaken by speech and language therapists and the volunteering service.

This has been developed by speech and language therapists from the Learning Disability Service in Carmarthenshire working closely with the Volunteering for Health team in Hywel Dda Health Board.

 David Fretwell, head of Hywel Dda Health Board’s volunteering service, said: “This work has been innovative and really important; offering an easy read accessible format for people with a learning disability wanting to volunteer within the Health Board.” Volunteering for Health is funded by the Big Lottery Fund.

LDT Editor

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