By Your Side volunteers at Birmingham Children’s Hospital

We’re on the lookout for volunteers to help our By Your Side team provide advice and information to families with children at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Contact's By Your Side hospitals team

About Contact

Contact is a national charity for families with disabled children. We provide information, advice and support, and bring families together so they can support each other. We campaign to improve their circumstances, and for their right to be included and equal in society.

About the role

Having a child in hospital can be overwhelmingly stressful for parent carers. As well as emotional strain, families often face a raft of practical challenges and left feeling confused by the medical system and unsure where to turn for help. They can also struggle under increased financial pressure as they reduce work hours to spend more time with their child.

Contact’s By Your Side team currently offer support in five UK hospitals to any family who have a child with health needs, guiding them through the maze of medical departments and jargon they face and discussing any issues or challenges they face, for example around benefits, education, social care or how to find local support groups for example. Families are free to drop in with no appointment needed, and ward visits are also possible if that suits the family better.

We now have an opportunity for volunteers to help at Birmingham Children’s Hospital on Wednesdays during term time, 9am-2pm.

Sounds like something you might be interested in?

For more information about this role, please get in touch with Laura Miller, a Parent Advisor in our By Your Side team, by emailing [email protected], and submit your completed application form to Laura Miller.