'The hospital is a big, bewildering place'

"A lot of people come in and they are confused. It is a big, bewildering place."

The words of Gordon Evans, as he talks about volunteering at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth (QE) Hospital, which is celebrating 15 years since it opened.

Mr Evans, who has been a QE volunteer for nearly as long as it has been open, says he enjoys reassuring people in navigating the hospital's large site.

The BBC has visited the hospital, built at a cost of £545m site and opened on 16 June, 2010, to cover the milestone anniversary.

Mr Evans told BBC Radio WM that despite receiving details on appointment letters, patients often find the size of the Edgbaston site baffling, with the Heritage building the most difficult to find.

"They come through the door and look up at the sky and think right away they need help," he said.

"The most satisfying part of the job is calming people down and reassuring them they are okay now and they are going to be taken to the proper clinic without any problems."

Meanwhile, Malala Yousafzai, one of the best known former patients, has sent a video birthday message to staff.

The women's rights campaigner and Nobel Peace Prize recipient underwent cranial surgery at the hospital in 2013, after being shot on a school bus in Pakistan, aged 15.

"I am so grateful to all the doctors, nurses and staff members who looked after me and I want to thank you all for the service that you do for the community," she said in her message.

As part of the BBC's anniversary coverage, staff at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, which has been based at the QE since 2010, have described how surgical skills developed in war zones are routinely being used to treat gun and knife crime victims.

Mr Evans, who used to run a construction firm, decided to volunteer while in the hospital himself for an operation.

"I was in the cut and thrust of construction for about 50 years and I thought this is a worthwhile job meeting people and doing something to help someone for a change and when I came out I applied to be a volunteer and here I am still doing it," he said.

"It's nice to meet people and get a good smile for your efforts, that's the biggest reward."

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