THE COMPANY behind coordinating the NHS volunteer army have issues an apology to thousands of individuals across the country who are waiting to start volunteering but are yet to receive alerts for tasks.

Three quarters of a million people signed up to be NHS Volunteer Responders relieve pressure on the NHS in England after the government’s appeal on March 24.

However, since the launch of the initiative, the majority of volunteers have been racked up hundreds of hours of voluntary work through the GoodSAM app having not been assigned any tasks.

In an email sent to volunteers, GoodSAM said: “Firstly, apologies to those of you that are waiting to start volunteering but are yet to receive alerts for tasks.

“Volunteer tasks are building in the system but not at the desired rate we had hoped for.

“We have plans in place this coming week to significantly increase referrals (and therefore tasks) so we hope that your volunteering will start soon.”

Hundreds of individuals from across the Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch area, with many of them accumulating hours of time volunteering without having to do anything.

Karl Ellison said: “I’ve been available for 232 hours and only had one alert which was a false alarm.

“Hopefully this is the case because they are over-subscribed or everyone is OK.

Another volunteer said: “I registered within 24 hours of the launch of the initiative, I have downloaded the app and since then I’ve been waiting for a job.

“According to the app, I have been clocked on for 396 hours and I haven’t had a task yet.”

The first responder app are also launching a new volunteer role called 'Community Response Plus' to care for individuals isolating or shielding with “significant vulnerabilities and/or cognitive impairments”.

However, unlike the NHS Volunteer Responders, these roles can only be filed by individuals with the necessary safeguarding in place, namely an Enhanced DBS with Children’s or Adult’s Barred list, dated within the last 12 months.

In the same email, GoodSAM said: “The Community Response Plus (CR+) role will provide the same type of support as the standard role - collection of shopping, medication or other essential supplies for someone who is self-isolating, and delivering these supplies to their home.

“However, this enhanced role will support individuals who have been identified by referrers as living with a significant vulnerability. This role is currently only available to volunteers living in England.”

Royal Voluntary Service will verify your eligibility for the role, and assign you as being approved for this additional role.

NHS Volunteer Responders willing to apply for the new ’Community Response Plus’ need to reply to their email with their full name in the subject line and a clear copy of your enhanced DBS certificate attached.

Applications will close on Friday April 24.