Driving Support Plus: Volunteers support the NHS and people who are newly discharged from hospital, are waiting for admission to hospital or are being cared for on a virtual ward by transporting medicine or monitoring equipment. This can either be to the person at home or to another health site.
Volunteers will be able to enter the home of the person receiving support, to help with the delivery and home storage of medications and or medical devices for virtual wards.
As a Driving Support Plus Volunteer, you can support the following activities:
This guide will give you everything you need to get started with Driving Support Plus. If you haven’t already, please see our Volunteer Checklist[2] to ensure you read everything necessary to give you the best possible start to your volunteering.
Inclusion
We are committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds, communities, identities, and abilities. We value the diversity of our volunteers, the people we support and the unique experiences everyone brings.
As a volunteer, you will support a range of people in diverse communities and we ask that you make sure everyone feels welcomed, supported and valued for who they are.
Please watch our short introductory video on EDI principles[3] for access to the video and for more information on how you can support people with accessibility needs and learn about different backgrounds and communities visit the Inclusion Hub[4]
Page last reviewed: 19 September 2024
Pick Up and Deliver Plus
Pick Up and Deliver Plus Volunteers support the NHS by delivering medications and or equipment to people recently discharged from hospital or being cared for on a virtual ward.
This support allows them to return home promptly without having to wait for their medications in a hospital setting or get the care they need at home.
When supporting a virtual ward, you will be asked to collect or deliver medical equipment to people at their home, such as a remote monitor or a medical device. The equipment will be portable and can be taken into the home.
All support must be concluded by 8pm, please don’t agree to any deliveries after this time.
Volunteers will either receivean urgent/same day support request which is a one-off request, if you have put yourself on duty in the GoodSAM App. Or volunteers can select individual shifts from the activities tab in the App for scheduled activities. Some hospital trusts will need to send an urgent support request, but many will use the shift option to schedule the pickups around planned patient discharges. For this activity it is important to look at the shifts available.
Urgent/Same day tasks that need to be completed today. You will be given the information on where you need to go to collect and deliver within the app.
Shift/Scheduled activity This can involve one journey to one location, or multiple items delivered to multiple locations.
For one journey, date, time and location details will be given via the app
For multiple journeys, date and time will be given via the app. Whereas locations will be given on site.
Getting started
Before your first task
Please read the information on entering someone's home guide[5], before you complete a task if you have agreed to doing this with the person before completing the task.
If you are calling a person you are supporting, ensure you withhold your number. This is to protect you from unsolicited calls and to ensure safeguarding procedures are followed. You can do this by dialling 141[7] for Android or #31#[8] for Apple before the person's number or go into your phone's settings. Do not click on the phone number within the task information without editing. You can read more about data protection and [9]confidentiality[9] as well as safeguarding[10].
It is important to uphold the confidentiality of the person at all times. You may receive/hear personal information or details through conversations. All forms of personal information must be treated with respect and be handled in a highly confidential way.
Think about how you safely store contact details, do not leave these in a place that other people can access. If you are able to lock these away in a safe place, please do so. Once the task is completed destroy this information please ensure it is shredded in a confidential manner.
All relevant information will be within the app. This will include where you need to go to collect (site details) and the address for delivery. If the request is for a shift you will be given a date and start time.
Activity specific tips
Please follow the steps below to ensure safe delivery/collection of medication or equipment.
Collecting the delivery
Details of where to collect the medication or equipment will be in the activity information on the the GoodSAM app[11].
If the task is a short notice task that needs to be completed on the day, the notification will include details of the collection and delivery addresses.
If the delivery is booked in advance as a shift, you will need to view these in the app and ‘accept’ to attend. This information will include the address of the hospital where you will start your shift. You will be provided with the delivery addresses on arrival at the hospital.
If you are delivering to multiple locations, we suggest you use your sat nav or a navigation app such as Google maps for planning the most efficient delivery route. Please keep details of the journey to inform your expense claim.
Upon arriving at the hospital, you will be asked to provide your GoodSAM ID.
Before you leave the hospital, make sure you have contact details for the hospital team/person which gave you the items to deliver. If at any time you are unsure of what to do with a delivery, call them for assistance and guidance.
On delivery
Do not post the medication or equipment through the letterbox.
Deliveries must be completed on the same day you collected them. All support must be concluded by 8pm, please don’t agree to any deliveries after this time.
Any medicines/deliveries that cannot be delivered must be returned to the hospital that day; you must not store other people's medicines overnight in your own home.
Do not open the bag of medicines to be handed over to the person; full details including name and delivery address will be on the external label of the package.
Ask the person for their name and address and check this on the label.
Make sure you pass on any additional information provided by the hospital.
If the medicine package splits, or there’s a breakage, call the hospital contact team immediately for their advice.
Some people may have more than 1 package. When you collect the items check the number of packages for each person and ensure that all bags of medicines are delivered.
If the person has questions about the delivery, please advise them to contact the hospital.
People may have an item that will need to be returned to the hospital, for example a battery. Please return this on the same day.
Storing medications
Ask the person you are supporting where they would like the medication kept.
If medication needs to be refrigerated, place these into the fridge straight away.
Clearly inform the person where the medication has been placed, for example, top shelf in the fridge, or on in the cupboard above the microwave.
Try and store medication in a closed cupboard or draw in case children live or visit the house.
Do not offer to open the medication for the person. They may ask that you fill their dosette box for them. You are not able to do this as you may incorrectly allocate a dosage.
This activity will not include cash handling, delivery or collection of controlled drugs or biological samples.
If you experience any difficulties while you’re volunteering or face any circumstances which make you feel uncomfortable, we are here to support you. Please call the Support Team on 0808 196 3382[13]. All concerns will be handled sensitively, and we will work with you to ensure a safe and positive volunteering experience.
Potential questions you may be asked
Can you help me take my medication?
You are not allowed to administer any medicines, kindly tell the person you are supporting that you are not able to help them.
Can I order a repeat prescription through you?
Ask the person you are supporting to call their GP or the hospital to discuss a repeat prescription.
Skills Bank
We have a selection of resources in the Skills Bank[14] that may help you with your volunteering. We have linked to the resources that we think would support you with this activity, take some time to look through them to build your confidence.
