90-Year-Old Derek Helps Break Hospital Volunteer Record

Derek Warren celebrated his 90th birthday in June doing what he loves most: welcoming anxious patients at Northampton General Hospital with his signature smile.

The former BT maintenance supervisor is part of a remarkable achievement. Volunteers at Kettering and Northampton General Hospitals worked a record-breaking 82,536 hours between April 2025 and March 2026, the most University Hospitals of Northamptonshire has ever recorded.

Derek's volunteer journey began with grief and gratitude. When his wife frequently needed hospital care, volunteers helped them navigate appointments and find their way around the sprawling facility. After she died in November 2014, Derek remembered how much those volunteers meant to them both.

"I thought what a good job the volunteers were doing, directing and helping the public around the hospital," Derek said. "I thought that's what I wanted to do."

He started volunteering in 2015 at age 79. Now, a decade later, he still shows up every Monday and Friday afternoon. When asked about his motivation, Derek keeps it simple: volunteering keeps him "active and out of trouble."

His fellow volunteers surprised him on his 90th birthday when he arrived for his shift on June 8th. Staff appeared with a homemade cake, which Derek happily shared with his volunteer teammates. He has no plans to stop anytime soon.

Sunny's Take

About 500 volunteers like Derek now serve across both hospitals, and their impact goes far beyond the numbers. Emma Wimpress, head of volunteer services at UHN, says volunteers transform the patient experience at the most vulnerable moments.

"When people come to hospital, they're anxious and they don't necessarily know where they're going," Wimpress explained. "So seeing Derek's smiley face, or one of the other volunteers, really puts someone's mind at ease."

The volunteers handle everything from greeting patients at arrival to supporting ward staff with non-clinical tasks. Each interaction might seem small, but together they create an atmosphere of care that medical staff alone cannot provide.

Derek's story shows that service has no expiration date, and sometimes our greatest contributions come after our so-called retirement years.