Friendly faces and good listeners are being sought by Princess Alice Hospice to support patients through 2014.

The Esher hospice wants more volunteers to sign up to help alongside their chaplaincy team by listening to and speaking to those who use the inpatient ward.

Volunteers receive full training and spend time with patients who may not have relatives or with those who like talking to someone they are not close to.

Geraldine Worthington, from Kingston, has volunteered at the hospice for more than three years.

She said: “One of the things I really love is that no two days are going to be the same. Even if I visit someone that I have visited before, often their needs have changed or they may need different things from me.

“We’re not just there for the patients, we talk to their relatives and friends about anything concerning them or just being there to have a chat about the weather or the gardens.

“Sometimes people just need someone to talk to about normal things at times when they are consumed by their loved one’s illness.”

Reverend Dr Steve Nolan, chaplain at Princess Alice Hospice, said volunteers do not have to be of a particular faith of spiritual, but compassionate, understanding and able to listen.

To find out more, hospice chaplaincy volunteer open events will be held at the hospice on Wednesday, January 15, from 6.30pm to 8pm and Thursday, January 16, from 2.30pm to 4pm.

For an application form, visit pah.org.uk/chaplaincy-volunteer or call Dr Nolan on 01372 461806.