Anthony McMahon asks: Do volunteers get a staff discount in F&E stores? A volunteer from the store I work at was refused one

There is a system for which volunteers can get a discount in Furniture & Electrical stores but it does depend on the product line.

We'd advise your colleague to check with their shop manager and check the reasons why the discount wasn't possible in the particular case in question.

Please do pass on our thanks to your colleague for volunteering.

Ray Short also asks: “When are members of staff at the BHF headquarters going to show less contempt in their dealings with the voluntary sector

Everybody in the BHF understands that without our supporters and volunteers it would be absolutely impossible to do our life-saving work. As Chief Exec I never miss an opportunity to remind staff of this.

We understand that under pressures of time staff don't always behave exactly as we would like - we've introduced a comprehensive development programme for all staff to ensure we give the very best service to our volunteers.

We're sorry to hear you've had a poor experience, thanks for bringing it to our attention. If you have more detail to help us follow this up please do share this with Keith (lewisk@bhf.org.uk). Keith will then take it up with the appropriate people.

We're always delighted to have feedback even if it does involve some uncomfortable messages. We believe that this is important to achieving continuous improvement.

Ray Short asks: Whatever happened to the much vaunted “insights team” was this just another BHF initiative without much substance

As a very valued volunteer for the British Heart Foundation we are distressed to hear that you believe that we start off initiatives without seeing them through. Please, if you have any other examples do let us know because we'd like to follow them up.

We're pleased to say we've made good progress on the insights project. We're just about to launch and have already got a number of people signed up as our insights panel. It's currently fully subscribed but if you're interested in taking part in the future we'd love to hear from you.

Of course the insights panel is not the only way we listen to our supporters. We'd encourage you to get in touch with your Fundraising Volunteer Manager or Regional team who can give you some more suggestions.

Diane asks about cardiac rehab publicity

Diane Asks: “I would like to ask why more G.Ps are not referring Heart Failure Patients for Cardiac Rehab...I was told I’m a candidate for this but that they don’t have enough Heart Failure Patients to do group work with because they are not getting the referrals. I live in Edinburgh and I spoke to my G.P last week about this and he thanked me for the information he will now start referring patients from his surgery.... defiantly a Lack of communication somewhere between G.Ps and Health Authorities I think.

The BHF believes that wherever appropriate heart patients should be referred to cardiac rehab. We have been campaigning hard on this and there is lots of info on our website campaign pages. At the moment only around half of the patients whom we believe would benefit from cardiac rehab are actually getting it. We want to see this change and actions like you've taken help this. You can also help us by getting your GP to get in contact with our Medical Director Peter Weissberg (weissbergp@bhf.org.uk) and we will get your GP the information he needs.

If you'd like to help us with the campaign please contact us directly (Keith Lewis - lewisk@bhf.org.uk).

Pam Brown asks: How many, the subjects and where are BHF research grants taking place?

BHF research grants cover almost everything which is relevant to cardiovascular disease. At any one time we have several hundred research grants in operation all around the UK. Our biggest spends on research are in Oxford, Cambridge, London and Edinburgh. There is lots more info on our website research pages.

Naturally all of this work is only possible with all the amazing support of our volunteers.

Q: Do you interview volunteers before they become volunteers?

We always talk to people about their skills and interests when tey say they are interested in volunteering for BHF. This is to make sure we are using their skills in the way which is best for the foundation and that they are getting the maximum amount of satisfaction.

It is also important for them and us to be clear how much or how little time they want to spend with us. All volunteers are very highly appreciated no matter what they do for us.

Live chat starting in 5mins

BHF live chat on Volunteering

We'll be starting our live Q&A on Volunteering in the next 5 minutes. Our Chief Exec Peter Hollins and Volunteer Fundraising Manager, Keith Lewis, will be answering all your questions. Unfortunately our Fundraising Director, Aneesha Moreira, has been called away and won't be joining us as planned.

We've had a few questions in already so will be starting very soon...