THE instant the tea trolley appears faces light up.

First, the gentle trundle of the wheels to announce its arrival, followed by a cheerful greeting and the offer of a fresh cuppa.

It may seem like a small gesture but for patients and their families at the Beatson, it can make a tangible difference to their time in the cancer centre.

The famous tea trolley is what brought Louise White on her journey from broadcaster to volunteer to Director of Communications for the Beatson Cancer Charity.

Despite now being a full time member of staff, Louise has continued to dedicate time on a Thursday afternoon to the tea trolley.

And as I join her for a stint volunteering, I can see that she loves what she's doing - and why.

People waiting in hospital corridors are delighted to see the trolley: for a hot drink, a biscuit and for the chat and the break in the monotony.

There's a definite double-take from some people as Louise's familiar voice asks if they take milk or sugar.

Others aren't keen to be interrupted and so Louise - and the other tea trolley volunteers - will retain a respectful distance.

Knowing exactly when to back off is one of the trickier parts of the trolley round, and one of the most important.

With some patients Louise will build up a real rapport, which can take an emotional toll if the person is going through a difficult time.

Louise said: "Because I am seeing them every Thursday I get to know their orders and you start to know people.

"There are times when it is difficult and you feel like crying but you take your nails and dig them into your thigh.

"While I am friendly I keep a very respectful boundary... I never ask people's names or how they are doing. I absolutely respect their confidence.

"You do impact on a lot of lives and you can be the only person that patient will speak to that day.

"It is 'just' a cup of tea but it is making a huge impact - that's why I started calling it a cup of kindness."

And from that small trolley 111,000 cups of kindness have been served in the past five years.

That's a staggering amount of one-to-one contact with patients and their loved ones.

Louise was working for BBC Scotland on the morning programme when she started thinking about taking on a new volunteer role.

She said: "In the afternoons I was walking my dog or going for a run and having a privileged life and thinking, 'What else could I be doing?'

"By 3pm I had read my scripts for the next morning and had nothing else to do so was constantly thinking, 'What are you doing, sitting here on your backside?'

"I have always volunteered and the Beatson had come on my radar as a local hospital.

"As I looked at the website, I thought they were a perfect fit and had so many different types of volunteering opportunities.

"I didn't necessarily want to be out shaking a bucket so being offered the chance to volunteer on the tea trolley was ideal."

The Beatson Cancer Charity, which turns five this year, provides added extras for the west of Scotland's cancer hospital.

It funds 22 specialist posts, helping give a margin of excellence to the famous cancer centre.

These include Lorraine Whyte, a Practice Education Radiographer, who is also running a programme supporting patients with the late effects of radiotherapy thanks to a £150,000 grant from the charity.

Beatson Cancer Charity also funds the Beatson Cancer Charity Wellbeing Centre, which offers alternative therapies and a welcoming space away from the wards for patients to take time out.

Similar services are funded by the charity at associated hospitals such as the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, the New Victoria Hospital and Lanarkshire Beatson.

Louise applied using her maiden name and went through the usual process of being interviewed, checked under Disclosure Scotland and providing two references.

She said: "The tea trolley became a major part of my work and the most important part of my work.

"If I had had a stressful radio programme, a difficult programme that had drained my energy, I would come here and it put everything in perspective.

"By the end of the shift on the tea trolley I would be shattered and fall straight asleep.

"It was far more difficult and challenging than being on the radio."

I spend just one hour on a tea trolley round but Louise is right, it's no easy task.

Having worked in a coffee shop for nine years, I thought making simple tea, coffee and hot chocolate would be easy but remembering orders while also assessing what people need from you - a wide berth or a good dose of conversation - is not straight forward.

Louise says there is a real trust between the tea trolley volunteers and the medical staff.

She added: "In the early days there was a bit of resistance.

"Now we are allowed into the doctor's rooms with a cup of tea and the doctors see the benefit of that.

"If you are giving someone difficult news then a cup of tea makes a difference.

"It's that cup of kindness again.

"And if someone says to me they'd like two biscuits as they're starving, I know where the sandwiches are so I'll get them a sandwich."

Again, Louise says volunteers have to know that the job needs real sensitivity and understanding.

She added: "I don't think I could have done this in my 30s. You can meet the suited and booted, the footballer, the nice lady from the suburbs. Cancer does not discriminate.

"I will come up at night to our Wellbeing Centre and just sit and chat to somebody and may never meet them again but it's an absolute privilege to spend time with them.

"I am immensely proud of the work we do here."

It was vital to Louise that she keep on her volunteer role when she took on a full time position with the charity, a role she said was meant to be.

She said: "The job of Director of Communications came up and I considered applying.

"I was out running thinking, 'I'm 52 and this might actually be it, this might be the thing I was meant to do.'

"I loved my colleagues, I loved the patients.

"And it was the right move because this is the best job in the world."

The charity relies on its volunteers - currently 160 of them - who have provided 15,600 volunteer hours in the past five years.

Louise said: "My reality is I'm fit and healthy and I have lost people and I know that life is to be cherished so of course I want to give.

"Not give back, because I have never had anyone treated at the Beatson, but just to give.

"Volunteers are very special people to start with and it takes a special person to have the confidence to come into a cancer hospital.

"A volunteer is a positive person, a can-do person and has excellent emotional intelligence.

"It is a human, basic, moral duty to give."

To get involved with volunteering at the Beatson Cancer Charity see www.beatsoncancercharity.org/get-involved/volunteer or phone 0141 212 0505.