A HERO student nurse is devoting almost all of her waking hours to the coronavirus fight.

Rachel Gillespie is one of hundreds of Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) students who answered the call, finishing her studies early and being thrown in the deep end to help the NHS.

She wasn’t meant to graduate for another three months, but now she’s on the frontline daily at Glasgow’s Royal Infirmary to help combat the Covid-19 crisis.

But as well as giving her all in the hospital ward, the selfless ­student is also helping vulnerable locals access essential groceries during lockdown.

She is doing this by working part-time at customer service provider Webhelp.

Glasgow Times:

READ MORE: GCU: Over 500 nursing students 'well prepared' to join NHS coronavirus fight

Rachel said: “Tackling coronavirus is a community effort.

“I am proud to be entering frontline nursing at such a pivotal time for our country and to be doing my bit to help, whilst continuing to assist vulnerable customers in my job at Webhelp.”

Despite the increase in demand during these unprecedented times, Rachel has vowed to continue her work to help those in the community who need help now more than ever.

Robin Danks, operations manager at Webhelp’s Dunoon site, said: “Rachel has demonstrated unwavering dedication to her essential work at Webhelp as well as her nursing studies.

“We feel lucky to have her working in our team here in Dunoon and she is a real inspiration to us all.

“We look forward to supporting Rachel in both of her roles going forward.”

The Glasgow Times previously revealed how GCU was at the forefront when answering the calls to help support the NHS.

More than 500 final year students from the city centre university started paid placements with the NHS last month – making up around 10% of the new workforce recruited during the pandemic.

At the time, Professor Jacqueline McCallum, Head of GCU’s Department of Nursing and Community Health, said: “We are immensely proud of our students who will be starting paid placements with the NHS at this critical time.

“The students are well prepared, having developed their skills and knowledge by assessing and caring for a wide range of patients.”