“The NHS saved my daughter from a life of pain – now I want to give back”

The condition causes chronic and lifelong inflammation of the joints and can affect other parts of the body, such as the eyes, triggering a condition called uveitis. Emily spent her entire childhood and teenage years in and out of hospital, often in great pain and on a lot of complex medication with myriad side effects. Marie-Louise had to give up her job and become a full-time carer.

As a teenager during Covid lockdown, Emily developed severe and mysterious symptoms. She was eventually diagnosed with a heart condition for which she also needs continual treatment and surveillance. On the day she received her GCSE results, Emily was admitted to hospital in extreme pain with the first of numerous, unexplained episodes of acute pancreatitis. She is now unable to digest solid food and relies upon a tube that feeds directly into her intestines for most of her nutrition.

Despite her complex and chronic medical needs, Emily has fought valiantly to achieve as much as she can and continues to aim high in life. She has succeeded in both her GCSEs and A levels. She is now currently studying for a home-based qualification in Biological Sciences through the University of Cambridge.

Now that Emily and her younger sister Sophie are growing older and more independent, Marie-Louise has decided it’s time to say an almighty thank you to the NHS by signing up to volunteer in the hospital which has become as familiar as a second home.

Marie-Louise said: “I loved working in TV when I did it, but as a frequent visitor I became very familiar with the hospital environment and realised that I didn’t want to go back into the TV world. On one occasion Emily was in hospital for nine weeks and when you spend so much of your life with your child on the ward, attending routine appointments and having other treatment and procedures, it becomes quite a familiar and comforting environment where you naturally build bonds with an amazing multidisciplinary team of people.

“I really wanted to find a way to give some of my time back to the NHS and say thank you for the many years of care that Emily had and will always need. I now have such an empathy with patients and their relatives that I just wanted to do something to help them.

“I made a few enquiries and discovered that I could become a volunteer, so I jumped at the chance to find out which opportunities are available. A new role at the main Pharmacy had just been approved and having had experience with many ward admissions, Emily and I were used to the waiting times for medication on discharge, so I immediately knew that becoming a ‘Pharmacy Runner’ was the role for me. I was keen to become part of a team that helps deliver certain types of medication to wards and departments across the hospital, so that it reaches patients and helps them get back to their own homes more quickly.”

Marie-Louise started as a Pharmacy Runner at Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust in November 2024. She literally walks the length and breadth of the hospital delivering medication and on most days clocks up around 11,000 steps. And she gets to see every nook and cranny of the campus, communicating and building relationships with both new and familiar staff, fellow volunteers and visitors to the hospital along the way.

“I love visiting all the different departments and wards in one shift. And I love the fact that it’s an active role which keeps me fit but at the same time I also know I am helping many people, making sure they get to go home hours earlier than they would have done,” said Marie-Louise.

“Some statistics from our own department showed that in one month our team of nine volunteers clocked up 70 hours between us and delivered an extra 588 bags of medication. That makes a real difference and also makes me feel incredibly proud to part of the team.”

Earlier this year an opportunity came up to do additional volunteering through Helpforce’s Volunteer to Career scheme. Marie-Louise had become fascinated by radiology as Emily had spent so much time having different kinds of scans.

She said: “I recognise the fear people feel in relation to scans. The whole thing can be quite terrifying – you have to go in on your own, there is all this unfamiliar machinery, and you never know what they’re going to find. The results of a scan can be life-changing.

“I empathise with the patients and if I can make their life easier just by being there to walk with them to their appointment, have a chat and hold their hand, then that is really worthwhile. For me, as well, it is a calming, beneficial experience.”

Marie-Louise feels that her life and perspective has shifted away from TV production and she wants to find out about the possibility of a career in healthcare, especially radiology. Volunteering gives her a way to explore that without commitment.

“So much time spent in the NHS as a patient and a carer does change you. For Emily, it made her old beyond her years. At a very young age she was used to chatting with adults and senior clinicians. She grew comfortable with them, which helped her to develop confidence and her own rapport with her team of carers.

“And for me, it has changed my outlook completely. TV work is all about constant scheduling and always working to a timetable. You deal with one thing and you’re immediately onto the next. Healthcare is about people – about real lives. It’s a different kind of stress, but it gives an amazing feeling of satisfaction.

“One of my most memorable moments was when I was doing my radiology volunteering and I just happened to see an elderly lady looking absolutely lost in the corridor. I asked her if she was ok and she replied ‘No, I’m not’. She was in a state because she had lost her letter, didn’t know where she was going, and was terrified of missing her appointment.

“I helped her find out where her appointment was, I took her to it, and on the way, we just chatted and she unburdened herself. It was a small thing, but for her it made a huge difference.”

And Emily has also taken a cue from her mum, organising her own work experience in cardiology research and imaging at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust where she also happens to be a cardiology patient. Despite the difficulties that she has faced over the years, Emily is also a volunteer for Wiltshire & Bath Air Ambulance and hopes that one day her experiences will help her pursue a career in healthcare research.

Inspired by tens and thousands of volunteers like Marie-Louise, who wish to volunteer for the NHS to give back, Helpforce has launched a three-year campaign 'Giving Back, Transforming Care' to inspire national conversations, foster deeper public engagement and shift perceptions of healthcare volunteering from a 'nice to have' to a strategic imperative. Learn more about this ambitious campaign here.