Shropshire NHS awards: A patient's thanks just makes our day, say Terry and Barbara Seston

The couple, who are both aged 81, work at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, where they befriend people who may be nervous ahead of their appointment.

They are part of the Royal Voluntary Service, with the pair keen volunteers who began working in the hospital in 2010.

The grandparents, who live in Bayston Hill, first worked recruiting patients to become members of the hospital so that it could become a foundation trust, going round clinics and encouraging people to join.

• Find out how you can vote in Saturday’s Shropshire Star.

• We will run down all five finalists and explain how to make your choice.

• Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust’s VIP Awards reward workers who help make a difference.

• The Shropshire Star has teamed up with the trust for the People’s Choice category.

• Finalists will be invited to an awards ceremony later this month.

From there, Barbara, who is also known as Babs, who formerly worked in the Post Office in Bayston Hill, began working as a befriender on Ward 20, meeting people who don't have visitors to talk to while they are in hospital, while Terry went round the wards with the patient experience survey, finding out how people have found their time in hospital.

After that the pair both spent two years doing the food survey, finding out what people think of hospital food.

But for the past two years, the pair have worked in the radiology department, talking to people before they go in for scans or X-rays.

Mr Seston, formerly a human resources manager for Star News Shops, said he enjoyed speaking to people who may need comforting ahead of the X-rays.

He said: "They come down from the wards, or from A&E, on beds and quite a lot of them are older people and some may be suffering with dementia.

"We talk to them and take their minds off things before they go in for their X-ray.

"We talk to people, have a joke and make life a little easier for them before they go in for the process.

"It is so rewarding because we have people who say 'thank you so much for talking to me' and it gives you a real sense of satisfaction."

When Mr and Mrs Seston first came into the role they were asked by radiology supervisor Heather Brown to find out if there was anything patients would like to see in the X-ray waiting room.

From there, the couple met with Shropshire Vending Machines and were donated a vending machine and a television for patients using the room at no expense to the hospital.

The pair go in once a week, on a Wednesday or Friday afternoon, and also bring in magazines each week for patients to read in the waiting room. Mr Seston added: "We feel very privileged from our point of view as we enjoy what we are doing.

"I had cancer of the colon 27 years ago and from then on it triggered something that made me want to do whatever I could to help."

• Don’t forget to see Saturday’s Shropshire Star where you can find details of how to vote for the nominee you think should become the winner of the 2016 VIP Awards public choice, which will be handed out at a ceremony on September 29 at the Park Inn in Telford.