Hospice volunteers contribute to all areas of role including clinical, fundraising, driving, administrative and hairdressing to name just a few.

Roles are reviewed and developed continually and the Ayrshire Hospice has recently created the volunteering role of Ward Assistant. Martin Malloy, who has volunteered with the hospice since September 2017, currently works in this role.

Despite it being a new role, Martin is thoroughly enjoying working closely with patients. He said: “I would spend every day here if I could, the whole place resonates with me.

“I have a background in hairdressing and then found myself delivering care to a friend who suffered from multiple health conditions. I found that caring was something I was good at and really enjoyed doing.”

As a volunteer escort, Martin would travel to and from the hospice with patients making sure they were safe and comfortable when travelling.

For many people the thought of volunteering at the Ayrshire Hospice would be too much of a challenge and perhaps slightly upsetting. However, Martin fully believes it has been one of the most rewarding things he has done.

He continued: “I have managed to face any challenges I have come up against thanks to the support of the whole hospice team. I’ve now progressed from a volunteer escort to working in care and gaining a qualification in palliative care.

“It is rewarding helping people at a dark time in their lives, to be the rainbow in somebody’s clouds.”