Robert Collins, from Abergavenny, has no intention of retiring his uniform despite recently turning 70 years old.

Rob started as a porter in 1970 at Pen-y-Fal Hospital in Abergavenny.

Coming from the pits, he found his first day a bit intimidating.

However, encouragement from family ensured he returned to work for his second day and hasn’t looked back. He defines being a porter as “my calling from day one”.

After Pen-y-Fal, Rob moved to Tredegar General Hospital in Blaenau Gwent and in 2010 transferred to the new Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan Hospital in Ebbw Vale where he still works today, taking care of patients and inspiring his colleagues.

Mr Collins’ passion and dedication for his work is clear to see, as he is always going the extra mile for his patients, and the reaction he gets is one of his favourite parts of the job.

He said: “I enjoy coming to work, it’s as simple as that.

“During Covid, myself and my colleagues, we’d take the visitors round outside.

“I’d go up to the ward and say to the visitors, now mum is at that third window across, and they’d wave to their mum.

“It was a moving experience. They sent a little letter in thanking us and I thought, oh gosh, I’ve helped a little bit.

“Every patient could be a member of my family, so I treat them as hopefully my family will be treated.”

Porters are vital members of the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) team providing essential services to support clinical staff.

Transporting patients throughout the hospital, delivering posts and parcels to wards, transporting food trolleys, picking up and delivering blood samples for pathology and medicine for pharmacy, and sorting ward waste, they support every aspect of the daily running of Gwent hospitals.

Tracey Cullen, a Support Officer at Ysbyty Aneurin Bevan said: "The porters are the unseen cogs within the hospital, without them the service could not function.”