A King's School Macclesfield student has been going the extra mile for the NHS by volunteering to help those frontline health staff who he says "inspire" him.

Ollie Gandy, 17, a sixth former at the school, had been volunteering on the wards of Macclesfield District General Hospital until the coronavirus pandemic hit, but that hasn't stopped him offering a helping hand.

The aspiring doctor told Nub News that he wanted to gain experience on the wards to help him with next years applications to study medicine at university.

Ollie said: "On the wards, I was helping patients, speaking to them and handing out meals- just helping out on the wards where I could. The patient contact is such a great experience and it will help me with my application to medical school."

When the coronavirus crisis began to hit locally, Ollie was not able to continue on the wards, as the hospital wanted to reduce the spread of the virus and maintain PPE for medical staff where possible.

"That's when I said I still wanted to be involved and just do anything I can do to help while this was all going on. They really value their volunteers and especially now when the NHS is under more stress," Ollie explained.

One of the ways Ollie was able to help was to collect boxes of hand sanitiser from Whiston Hospital in Merseyside and deliver them to Macclesfield hospital.

Ollie's dad, Adam, had to drive as the coronavirus outbreak led to the cancellation of his driving test.

He plans to continue to volunteer with the hospital wherever he can and will fit it in around his online classes.

Ollie said: "It's been hard not having the social side of school and not seeing everyone which is also why I wanted to keep in touch with the volunteering at Macc hospital because it is quite social and it keeps me apart of something. It makes me feel like I'm having an impact."

The work done by medical staff at the hospital during the crisis has inspired him even further to become a doctor.

He said: "From volunteering on the wards, you just get to see all the work that the doctors and the nurses are doing with patients and I do look up to them, especially now in the circumstances they're working in."