Volunteer FAQs - Forms and paperwork

Below are answers to some frequently asked questions about forms and paperwork. If you need to download any of these they can be found in our leading a walk kit.

If you have any other queries that are not answered below please get in touch.

Can I send OHQs and walk registers to the Walking for Health national centre to be inputted onto the database?

All OHQs and registers need to be entered onto the Walking for Health database by the local scheme. The only circumstance that requires OHQs to be sent to us is if a volunteer-run scheme folds. Please see the question below.

Can I send OHQs and walk registers to Walking for Health's offices to be put into the database?

All OHQs and registers need to be entered onto the Walking for Health database by the local scheme. The only circumstance that requires OHQs to be sent to us is if a volunteer-run scheme folds. Please see the question below.

What’s happened to the “Emergency contact details” question on the OHQ?

We don’t need this information – so for we’ve stopped asking for it.

But we understand the reassurance that having this information can give to walk leaders. So we’ve provided a template for ICE (In Case of Emergency) cards in our Leading a walk kit that schemes can give to walkers instead. Walkers fill in their emergency contact details and carry the card with them on a walk.

Benefits of the card:

  • Walkers are responsible for supplying their own information – not walk leaders
  • Easier for walkers to update
  • Walk leaders don’t have to carry around paper OHQs which, if not needed, can be disposed of securely
  • They can be adapted by your scheme to suit you

The template for prints onto A4 paper. Some schemes which already use ICE cards print onto photographic paper because it’s more weatherproof. Just choose what best suits your needs.

Walkers can decide whether to fill out ICE cards, or have an ICE name in their mobile phone contact list, or not to supply this information at all.

How long should I keep paper OHQs?

 

The main thing to remember is don’t keep personal information for longer than you need.

So the first question to ask is: ‘do I need to keep the paper OHQs?’ because it might be better to keep summary, anonymised information instead. How will you monitor the information, for example, if a walker moves, or fills out a new OHQ? What will you do with the old one?

If you’re sure you need to keep paper OHQs, how long you keep them for will depend on who administers your scheme and/or the reasons why you keep them.

What if a walker ticks “yes” to a health screening question but hasn’t gone to a doctor before turning up for a walk?

Walk leaders need to explain that any change in exercise regime, even something as safe as walking, may have harmful consequences to a small number of those ticking yes to any of the Health Screening questions. For this reason the walker must first discuss their intention to walk with their GP.

Walk leaders can’t force people to see their GP but should point out that all walkers walk at their own risk. If a walker refuses to sign the Health Declaration, the walk leader should annotate the form “refused to sign”. This is now an option on the database.

My scheme needs to keep paper OHQs. How should we store them?

If your scheme has a sound operational need to keep the paper OHQs – and it’s your decision – you can.
Make sure OHQs are:
• Sent securely
• Stored securely (e.g. in a locked cupboard)
• Only seen by people who need to
• Weeded regularly (say, every 6 months or annually)
• Disposed of securely

My scheme’s run by a local authority, the NHS or other large organisation. How long do we keep paper OHQs for?

If you use the database:

When you’ve input a walker’s information onto the database, you can dispose of paper OHQs securely. Remember, walkers should be carrying ICE (in case of emergency) cards now so you don’t need to keep OHQs for this contact information.

Does your organisation need to keep paper OHQs as well? If they do, they’ll have their own procedures to follow and their own timescales for keeping paper records, so check with them.

If you don’t use the database:

Follow the procedures laid out by your organisation as above.

My scheme’s not attached to a large organisation. What are we meant to do with paper OHQs?

 

If you use the database:

If your scheme is run purely by volunteers and you use the database, you should still only keep paper OHQs if you need them. All your walkers’ information is available to you on-line so you can dispose of the OHQs securely once you’re happy you’ve input the data accurately.

But if you do decide you need to keep them, paper OHQs need to be kept as explained above.

If you don’t use the database:

You need to store OHQs and keep them for as long as your walker walks with you. Or if they leave, for 5 years. This means that insurers have access to all relevant information in the event that a third party wants to make a personal injury claim against the Walking for Health national centre.

We’ve got a volunteer-run scheme. What happens to the OHQs if the scheme folds?

If your volunteer-administered scheme folds and you haven't been recording OHQ data on the database, please send your OHQs securely to the national centre.

We will store your information for 5 years before disposing of them for you. Your records are kept in case we need to provide information to our insurers if a third party makes a personal injury claim against Walking for Health.

If you have recorded the information from the OHQs onto the database, there is no need to keep OHQs. Please dispose of them securely.

How do I dispose of OHQs securely?

Disposing ‘securely’ means getting rid of the OHQ so that it can’t be put back together again by someone determined to steal a walker’s identity.

You can do this by shredding (preferably using a cross-cut shredder), or you can treat them as confidential waste and place in specially-labelled security waste sacks in your workplace.

How do I send OHQs securely?

OHQs should be sent from walkers and walk leaders to scheme co-ordinators and/or data inputters using special delivery or a tracked courier service. If you’re in a volunteer-run scheme, you can claim a refund for this (please contact the national centre).

We recommend that OHQs are sent double-packaged to a named recipient. The first envelope should indicate that there is PERSONAL information enclosed. The outer envelope should state PERSONAL or ADDRESSEE ONLY.

OR

OHQs may be handed from a trusted person to a nominated person if they are:

  • carried in a secure container (box, briefcase, etc),
  • kept in your personal possession at all times, unless it can be stored securely,

not left unattended in a public place (e.g. taxi, public transport, hotel, etc).

How do I check walker details have been input correctly onto the database without the OHQ?

Database inputting should be quality checked to make sure the details have been entered correctly, preferably by someone other than the inputter themselves.

Once you’re happy with the quality of the data entries, the OHQ can be disposed of securely.

Do children need to fill in OHQs?

Currently children do not need to fill in OHQs. But there is the option on the Walking for Health database to record the numbers of unregistered children who attended a health walk.

Can I email OHQs?

Completed OHQs should NOT be scanned or emailed.

If you send any information in an email or as an attachment to an email, it is the electronic equivalent of a postcard. It can easily be intercepted and read.

But if there is no alternative please send OHQs as an encrypted attachment. 

Can I save OHQs on my computer?

Completed OHQs can be saved on secured network drives only. They should be password protected so that the information can only be seen by those internal colleagues who need to.

Completed OHQs should not be stored on laptops or personal drives (which are copied to laptops).

Can I store OHQs on CDs, memory sticks etc?

‘Removable media’ such as CDs, DVDs, and memory sticks (USBs) should not be used to transfer sensitive or personal data unless:

  • there’s a strong operational need to do so and
  • there is no safer alternative and
  • the media (the CD or the stick, etc.) or the data itself is encrypted.

Can I fax OHQs?

Yes, you can. But to avoid the wrong people ending up on the receiving end of a walker’s personal data, here are some tips:

  • Remind the recipient about the sensitivities of the material you’re faxing.
  • Phone them first to make sure they are at the machine ready to receive the OHQs.
  • Send a test sheet first with non-sensitive information and phone to check it’s been received.
  • Confirm the number of pages – check they’ve all been received.

A walker has changed their mind about being contacted by the scheme/the Ramblers or Macmillan. What do I do?

If you have access to walker records on the database you can change the record yourself. Otherwise please contact us.

How long should I keep Risk Assessments for?

For as long as you have walkers walking those routes!

If a walker has an accident, you will be asked to show that you have conducted a risk assessment of the route they were on. You will also need to send an Accident Report Form to us as soon as is practicable (you can find these in our Leading a Walk Kit).

You only need to get rid of risk assessments if you stop using that particular route or if you have updated the assessment in the light of changes, e.g. new hazards. Some routes may need a separate risk assessment for different seasons when the conditions under foot can change significantly.

See our page on risk assessment guidance for more information.

What risk assessments are required when children join health walks?

Where groups of children are being led by teachers/Sure Start staff/youth leaders etc, the usual risk assessment and parental consent for children to take part will apply.

All walks should be risk assessed, which would include an assessment of the health and safety of children as well as adults.

Do walk leaders need a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if children are on the walks?

Our current guidance is that walk leaders must have a DBS check (formerly known as a CRB check) if:

  • the walks happen to consist mainly of children (those under 18 years of age).
  • the walks are aimed at children and take place on a regular basis.

We will be developing a full volunteering policy which will have more detail on this in the future, but for now, if you have further questions please do get in touch.

In addition to this, although it is not a legal requirement, we recommend that walk leaders are DBS checked even if children (and/or vulnerable adults) are only occasional walkers.

Walk schemes should always take steps to assess whether or not they are delivering a ‘regulated activity’, i.e. an activity that’s frequent (once a month or more) or ‘intensive’ (takes place on three or more days in a 30-day period) and:

  • involves contact with children or vulnerable adults frequently, ‘intensively’ and/or overnight. (Such activities include teaching, training, care, supervision, advice, treatment and transportation.)
  • Any activity allowing contact with children or vulnerable adults that is in a specified place frequently or intensively. (Such places include schools and care homes.)
  • Fostering and childcare.
  • Any activity that involves people in certain defined positions of responsibility. (Such positions include school governor, director of social services and trustee of certain charities.)

For more information, please visit the DBS website.