THE nominations are in for the Daily Echo Hospital Hero Award.

The Daily Echo Hospital Hero Award recognises a health worker or volunteer who has gone beyond the call of duty to help others.

We start our look at the contenders with a couple of hospital helpers who gathered an overwhelming number of nominations from staff, patients and visitors alike.

Max and Lady Poppy are a pair of German Shepherd therapy dogs that visit Southampton General Hospital three times a week, touring various wards to cheer up patients and provide companionship.

Owner Mike Thorpe, of Woolston, Southampton, says it brings him great joy to take the dogs in and see the reaction on patients’ faces.

He said: “I have been taking them in for about five years now.

“I can only take them in one at a time but both of them are such a hit on the wards. They never fail to cheer people up.

“The staff love them just as much as the patients, especially Max as he is such a flirt with the young nurses!”

Mike, 63, added: “I think they deserve to be nominated for this award because they really do bring joy to people and it’s such a reward to see their effect on people.”

Their popularity is there for all to see as more than ten people nominated the pair of pooches.

Both Max and Lady Poppy are rescue dogs and Mike has rescued hundreds of German Shepherds over the past few decades, retraining them as therapy dogs over the past 15 years.

Max and Lady Poppy are among a number of NHS staff and volunteers nominated for the award, which will be presented at a ceremony on March 3 at Novotel Hotel in Southampton.

The awards are organised by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Southampton General and Princess Anne hospitals.