Taking on NHS voluntary role 'life-changing'

Angie Duffin joined the volunteering scheme to fulfil a lifelong ambition to work in the NHS

A military wife says joining an NHS volunteering programme felt "like a whole new chapter" and "a really big deal".

Angie Duffin, from Barnwood in Gloucester, had always wanted to work in the NHS but her husband's military career required them to frequently relocate.

The 50-year-old has now started a paid role in pathology after taking part in the Volunteer to Career scheme at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

"I can't tell you the impact the programme has had on my life," she said. "It's been a really big deal for me, it has been life-changing."

Ms Duffin married Tim, a soldier in the Royal Engineers, in the early-2000s and the couple have four children.

When her husband retired in 2019 and their youngest child started college a year ago, she decided "it was my turn".

In October 2024, she signed up to volunteer one day a week in the Emergency Department of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

By January, Ms Duffin was invited to apply for the trust's Volunteer to Career scheme working in pathology - the study of diseases.

"The pathology department is clearly the place where I belong. This feels like a whole new chapter of my life," she said.

Ms Duffin volunteered in the Emergency Department of Gloucestershire Royal Hospital

The Volunteer to Career scheme is a national NHS programme funded by Health Education England and run in partnership with healthcare charity Helpforce.

The NHS has 107,000 job vacancies and the programme aims to help volunteers progress into paid staff roles.

Helpforce said 48 different NHS organisations across England have taken part in the Volunteer to Career programme.