“If my husband was still here, he would be so proud.”:90-Year-Old NUH Volunteer has NCT bus named after her | Latest news

“If my husband was still here, he would be so proud.”: 90-Year-Old NUH Volunteer has NCT bus named after her

A 90-year-old hospital volunteer has been given the rare honour of having a Nottingham City Transport (NCT) double-decker bus named after her, after winning an award for her tireless dedication to staff and patients over the past 19 years. 

Margaret Wildgust, a volunteer at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH), now joins an exclusive group of local heroes to be celebrated with an NCT bus bearing their name. 

The honour forms part of NCT’s sponsorship of NUH’s People First Recognition Awards, held in November, where Margaret was overcome with joy to be announced as the winner of the Volunteer Award. 

When the brown number 17 NCT double-decker pulled up outside the Trust headquarters at City Hospital, Margaret was visibly taken aback. 

“Ain’t it nice? I didn’t expect it at all. I am overwhelmed,” she said. 

Surrounded by family and friends at the unveiling, Margaret described the experience as a “wonderful moment”. 

“It just shows how much we are appreciated. I knew we were, but we don’t do it for that — we do it because we like people and we want to help,” she added. 

“If my husband was still here, he would be so proud.” 

Margaret was given a full tour of her bus and even had the chance to sit in the driver’s seat. 

“I’m taking this bus home with me,” she joked. 

Sarah Cadwell-Sneath, Voluntary Services Coordinator at NUH, who nominated Margaret for the award, said: “Margaret is a wealth of knowledge. She has dedicated nearly 20 years of her life to NUH and is a massive asset to our team. Everyone who walks through the doors at City Hospital knows Margaret for her kindness, compassion and her abundance of sweets.” 

David Conway, Head of Operations at Nottingham City Transport, said: 
“Fundamentally, volunteers do not get enough recognition across the entire community. Volunteers simply turn up and continue to give their time to help others. It is wonderful that we can bring some recognition to people like Margaret, and we are delighted to have named a bus after her.” 

Margaret joins Roy Brooks-Porter, last year’s NUH Volunteer Award winner, on the list of individuals to have an NCT bus named in their honour. Other notable names include Sheku Kanneh-Mason, 2016 BBC Young Musician of the Year, and Olympic gold medallist Helen Richardson-Walsh. 

Margaret’s daughter, Erica Shaw, said: “She is such an amazing person, and I am absolutely thrilled for her. She is a great-grandmother as well as being my mum, she is just amazing, utterly amazing.” 

Jack Adlam, Director of Communications at NUH, said: “Every day, remarkable people do remarkable things across our hospitals. Margaret is undoubtedly one of those people.”

“As one of our 750 volunteers, she embodies the compassion and commitment to supporting our patients, visitors and staff that all our volunteers do.”

“I am delighted to recognise a truly remarkable individual in Margaret. We are honoured to have her as part of the team.”  

If you would like to find out more about volunteering opportunities at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, visit www.nuh.nhs.uk/volunteer-here. 

If an NUH staff member or team has gone above and beyond in caring for you or a loved one, nominations can be made via www.nuh.nhs.uk/awards.