The grant is part of the £10m Volunteering for Health programme, which aims to maximise the benefits of volunteers as they play a valued part in delivering health and social care nationally and locally, while strengthening volunteering infrastructure.

Locally it brings together NHS Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board, Voluntary Norfolk, Norfolk County Council, Community Action Norfolk, Community Action Suffolk, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the Institute for Volunteering Research at the University of East Anglia.

In Norfolk the grant will better support organisations who rely on volunteers, improve their access to people interested in volunteering, support organisations to tailor opportunities based on the changing ways people want to volunteer, as well as making the case for investment in the VCSE, NHS and social care sector.

Mark Burgis, executive director of patients and communities at NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB, said: ‘Volunteers make a significant difference in Norfolk and Waveney, enhancing patient and visitor experience in health settings and providing valuable services in the community.

'Volunteers can never replace professional staff but they can use their time to provide support, making a health or care experience that little bit less daunting or lonely.'