A VOLUNTEER at a local health care Trust has been praised for providing extraordinary support to an elderly patient.

Alice Pearce, 32, from Hartlepool, has been volunteering at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Working two-days a week on Ward 36 at the University Hospital of North Tees, Alice supports the staff at meal times, responds to patients’ buzzers for help and spends time talking to the patients and taking their minds off their illnesses.

One such patient was 74-year-old Jill Monaghan from Hartlepool who has suffered a nasty fall which had led to her being admitted to hospital with a head wound for two weeks.

While on the ward, Alice came to Jill’s aid by finding her a mobile phone so she could call her son, bought her puzzle books and visited the patient's home to collect her glasses and extra clothes.

“Getting Jill’s glasses and clothes was no bother really.

"As volunteers, we’re here to help out patients and it made Jill’s stay easier when she could read in comfort."