From volunteer to NHS career

For 50-year-old Joanna Watts, signing up to become an NHS health checks outreach volunteer was a way of easing herself back to work after a life-saving operation.

Just three months after signing up to be a volunteer with our NHS Health Checks Service, Joanna Watts made the move to employee and said the volunteer to career opportunity has been a way for her to give something back to the NHS.

“I owe my life to the NHS,” said Joanna. “I feel incredibly lucky to be here after a long illness and life-saving surgery. As part of my recovery, I wanted to give something back.”

Joanna signed up to a central volunteering network, with the aim of making a slow return to work.

“I was searching for volunteering roles when I saw the NHS health checks outreach worker role advertised. The role involved travelling to outreach events in east Kent, providing intervention conversations, signposting to other services and engaging people in free NHS health checks.”

Delivered through the East Kent Health and Care Partnership, KCHFT recruits volunteers as part of the national Helpforce ‘Volunteer to Career’ programme, helping people move into careers through volunteering.

As a former community warden, the idea of bringing her experience to a role in community healthcare felt like the perfect opportunity to explore a new direction.

“One day-a-week, I supported the NHS Health Checks Team at outreach events. These can be really busy, so I started by helping check people in as they arrived. I took on more responsibilities, supported by the team, like taking blood pressure and talking to people about local health interventions such as the One You weight loss and stop smoking services.

“During my time volunteering, I’ve referred five people to their GP based on their health check results. These are people who could have been at risk of developing serious health conditions. It just shows how vital this outreach work is, particularly in pockets of high deprivation and poor health which is something I feel passionate about helping to tackle.”

After three months of volunteering, a permanent outreach role come up in the NHS Health Checks Team and Joanna was encouraged to apply.

“Having the volunteering experience gave me the confidence to apply for the role when it came up and I was so delighted to be offered the job. At 50-years-old, it can seem really daunting to re-train or go back to university. The scheme is such a brilliant way to gain new skills and get first-hand experience before applying for a permanent position.”

Samantha Scott, KCHFT’s Health Checks Project Manager, said: “Joanna is the first volunteer we’ve had through the Volunteer to Career scheme and is a real success story. We’ve benefitted so much by having Joanna support our busy outreach events. Now, we will benefit even further by having Joanna join the team on a permanent basis, bringing her new skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to the role.”