‘WE DON’T KNOW WHAT WE WOULD DO WITHOUT IT...!’

Small hospital that’s the pride of its town

ONE hundred years ago, a close-knit community clubbed together to fund a new hospital to serve the town.

The hospital, in Congleton, would be built to honour 243 members of that community who had lost their lives in the First World War.

Fast forward to the present day and that strong sense of community pride is still alive at the Congleton War Memorial Hospital as it prepares to mark its centenary.

Sue Smith, a Congleton resident who works as a nurse at the hospital, said that the community would be lost without it. She says she often overhears family members of patients state that they ‘don’t know what we would do without this hospital’.

Sue said: “The theme of the community supporting the hospital has remained over the years

“In particular during Covid-19 when there was a shortage of PPE, and we were given additional scrubs from local sewing factories in the town.

“You can see how tight the community is and how much they value the hospital and what it does for the town.

“When I looked after patients in the early 80s, predominantly older people, they would always share the memory of how the local community would pay for the hospital and how proud they were to contribute to the local hospital.”

Sue was born at Congleton War Memorial Hospital, and after completing her nursing training in Manchester in the 1980s, she came back to Congleton to work at the hospital.

Sue said: “My great grandma was a community midwife in the town in the late 1920s, so my family were all quite excited when I decided I wanted to go into nursing.

“The hospital has been a big part of my life and it’s a big part of our community.

“For me working here means a lot and it makes me proud being from the town too.”

Looking to the hospital’s future, the East Cheshire NHS Trust announced that a new Community Diagnostics centre hospital has launched an appeal for funds to create a new wellbeing garden, for patients, staff, and volunteers.

Jo Hodgkinson, Senior Sister on the Aston Ward at Congleton War Memorial Hospital, said: “The appeal will make a huge difference and will provide staff with a space to relax and unwind away from the pressures of the hospital.”

The garden will be created from an unused outdoor space within the hospital aimed at enhancing patient well-being and providing a space for staff to unwind from work pressures.

Jo continued: “Patients and their families will benefit too as it will offer them a safe and secure space which will help to reduce the distress and anxiety potentially caused by a stay in hospital.”

This month, the hospital will host a special centenary celebration in honour of its long and rich history.

In aid of this appeal, the hospital is hosting a ‘Centenary Celebration’ to honour this momentous occasion and is hosting a range of festivities – with some activities including live music, an RSPCA dog show, a 1920s swing band and more.

The event will be hosted in Congleton Park between 12pm and 5pm on May 27 and invites everyone to join the celebration.

More details can be found on the East Cheshire NHS Charity website.