A presentation thanking long-serving volunteers was held by the NHS trust running Queen’s and King George Hospitals for the first time in person since the start of the Covid pandemic.

The trust handed out special pins in recognition of the unpaid work the volunteers do.  

Among those receiving the pins was 72-year-old ex-policeman Terry Summers, who has been volunteering at Queen’s in Romford for 10 years.

He has been a toastmaster, magistrate and a Victim Support volunteer since retiring.

“I love it,” he says. “You meet so many personalities. People appreciate that as you’re not paid.

“I remember a young girl who simply said she needed to find her way to ‘resuscitation’, then told me her dad had just died.”

The grandfather-of-two started helping on the reception desk and is now a ‘wayfinder’ assisting patients and visitors find their way around.

Great-grandmother Dorothy Brown-Gordon, 78, is another volunteer and a former carer and a manager with the Jewish Care organisation in Gants Hill who brings her career experience to the patients she helps on Fern ward at King George Hospital.

She said: “I am a befriender keeping patients company as some don’t have family nearby or anyone to visit them.

“I wanted to give something back to the community when I retired, having worked with dementia patients for 23 years, so I have a lot of experience to share. The best thing is going home knowing I’ve done something good.”

Dorothy volunteers with husband Bryan who is also a volunteer at Jewish Care’s community centre. They were among those presented with the pins by the hospital trust’s chief executive Matthew Trainer and chief nurse Kathryn Halford recognising their long service.

Jacqui Smith, who chairs the Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust (BHRUT), said: “Our volunteers make such a difference to patients and staff. The hospitals are better places to work and be cared for because of them.”

The trust has 350 volunteers in a range of roles. It is currently looking for more people to become mealtime assistants, A&E ‘befrienders’ and outpatient clinic volunteers.