Here's how you can help out by volunteering at Morecambe Bay's health trust during the Covid-19 pandemic

Forty-seven people have already volunteered and the majority have been cleared to work.

Barry Rigg, head of patient experience at UHMBT, said: “We want to express our sincere thanks to each and every one of our volunteers for stepping forward during such a difficult time.

“We have had a large number of volunteer partner organisations come forward to support the NHS within one of our Community Recovery Centres at Barrow in Furness or Kendal.

"The public is right to be proud of you all – and we echo that sentiment. If you have any symptoms of Covid-19, then you should not volunteer until you are well again.

“Advice has been issued already, but to reiterate, if you need to self-isolate or ‘shield’ yourself, then you should stay at home.”

Members of the public are welcome to apply to volunteer at UHMBT through the trust’s ‘Helping Hands’ scheme.

NHS colleagues from the Patient Experience and Employment Service teams at UHMBT will contact you to ask a few simple questions once you have registered your interest.

If you still wish to progress with your NHS volunteering application form then the team will advise you of the next steps.

The trust has drafted the application form with the current Covid-19 situation in mind and will look at all interests and offers. Any concerns about safety in relation to Covid-19 can be discussed when you are contacted by a member of the team.

Volunteer support is welcomed on hospital wards and at the trust’s Community Recovery Centres in Kendal and Barrow.

Volunteer health care professionals with an active registration or with an inactive registration are also welcome to apply.

Anyone symptom-free and over the age of 18 can apply. People over the age of 70 can volunteer, however, they should bear in mind the Government directive to stay home.

To apply for UHMBT’s Helping Hands scheme, go online hereIn Lancashire the Lancaster Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) is coordinating offers of support from volunteers. This independent charity is working with local partners, including the NHS, Lancaster City Council, Lancashire County Council, other statutory service providers and voluntary, community, faith groups as well as social enterprise sector groups, to offer quick and simple ways to get involved in supporting individuals and communities in need.

More information on Lancaster CVS can be found herePeople can also volunteer through ‘Support Cumbria’, an official collaboration of partners across Cumbria working together to provide community support to residents and organisations that are struggling to access basic or essential services during the coronavirus outbreak.

Support Cumbria has a central database of potential volunteers in Cumbria who have registered their interest in signing up for volunteering opportunities during Covid-19.

If you are interested in volunteering for the NHS in Cumbria, please complete the simple form below* and then someone from the team will contact you.

In addition, if you select to volunteer for other areas of volunteering, as and when new volunteering opportunities are identified, you can be notified. All volunteers will be asked to complete a health self-assessment form.

To find out more and to volunteer in Cumbria, go online hereNHS England and NHS Improvement is also encouraging health and social care professionals to use the ‘NHS Volunteer Responders’ scheme to refer people who are vulnerable and at risk for support in their communities.

Health and social care professionals can now refer vulnerable people who are staying at home for support from the NHS Volunteer Responders for: medicine and grocery deliveries, lifts to appointments and check in and chat telephone support. Refer a vulnerable person here