Tea party celebrates volunteers with 250 years service

Wednesday 20 June 2018


Bernadette Burdge

Volunteers from Guy’s and St Thomas' with 250 years of combined service came together for a special afternoon tea on Thursday 14 June, in recognition of their contribution to the Trust.

44 of the volunteers received long service awards for their work across all areas of the hospitals and at community sites.

Bernadette Burdge, 84, is one of the longest serving volunteers, having racked up 31 years at the Trust. She says: “I first came to St Thomas’ in my 20s. It does everything for me and so I decided to volunteer. I would give them every waking moment if I could.

“In the early days I was a volunteer on the wards helping nurses to make the beds, then I moved to the Chaplaincy. If someone had bad news they knew I was really listening to them because I know how it feels. Now I’m on the information stand helping patients get to their appointments.

“I’ve got to know so many people, porters, doctors and nurses over the years. They are lovely people. I do this out of love for my hospital. It’s my way of saying ‘Thank you St Thomas’ for all you’ve done for me.’”

Volunteers carry out a range of tasks including welcoming and directing the public, providing administrative support and carrying out social activities like Evelina London’s hospital radio station, Radio Lollipop and supporting the Trust’s cinema, Medicinema, for patients.

Amanda Bryan, Voluntary Services Lead at Guy’s and St Thomas’, says: “It’s an incredible honour to work with almost 700 volunteers who dedicate so much of their time for our patients, their loved ones and staff. I’m very proud of the work that they do.”

Guy’s and St Thomas’ currently has 670 volunteers who volunteered around 35,500 hours in 2017/18. Every year the Trust recruits around 300 new volunteers.

Find out about volunteering at the Trust.

Last updated: March 2022

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