Beryl Round had just turned 17 when she began her nurse training.  Little did she think that it would lead to a lifetime of devotion to duty and that at 81 she would still be involved in serving the health of her local community!  But that’s just what Beryl is doing – as a volunteer at St. Peter’s Hospital.

Beryl, now Mrs Hughes, had qualified as both a general nurse and an orthopaedic nurse in Birmingham by 1949 and her career and marriage brought her to St. Peter’s Hospital’s A & E department as a staff nurse in 1958.  When she retired from nursing Beryl became a volunteer “pair of hands” on a medical ward while also working as an A & E receptionist.  Beryl then became a volunteer filing clerk in A & E reception and twice a week she collates and files 250-300 documents at a time as well as answering the phone and “pulling” notes for clinics.

Said Beryl: “I love it here, and I am very fortunate that I am able to do it at my age.  It is very much a two-way thing and I do enjoy working in St. Peter’s A & E reception. The whole team here are super, from the top to the bottom. Volunteering gives you the satisfaction of doing something useful, particularly because I have always been connected with patients and nursing.”

Beryl, of Ottershaw, has always nursed or volunteered on Christmas Day and she hopes to do the same this year.  But she has set her sights on volunteering on 5 July 2008 – because on 5 July 1948 she was on duty as a general nurse in Birminghamwhen the National Health Service came into existence.

Said the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals volunteer’s manager Karen Marsden: “We have more than 500 volunteers working in our hospitals, and we cannot thank them enough for all that they do.  Our volunteers have a huge variety of skills and talents that are put to good use every single day of the year – and some evenings too!  Some work behind the scenes in offices and others enjoy the patient contact with ward work or reception duties – the scope for them is enormous. 

“There are very few aspects of hospital life that do not benefit from the support of a volunteer.  The WRVS, the Red Cross, Hospital Radio Wey and the two Leagues of Friends at Ashford and St. Peter’s are the backbone of our volunteering service and at this special time of year we like to thank them all publicly for their unstinting support.”

To find out more about volunteering at the Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust readers can call Karen Marsden on either: 01784 884227 or: 01932 723239.