St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Eccleshill Community Hospital

On the site of the former Eccleshill High School, the new Hospital opened on 28th January. It's in Greengates parish, so I checked with the Vicar of Greengates before I went to the open day on 27th.

The hospital has 18 beds and aims to do roughly the same as Shipley Hospital does for this area, offering recovery and rehabilitation after serious operations, where the patients don't need access to acute services or high-dependency care.

Lesley, the matron and manager of the hospital, showed us round. She has worked for several years at St Catherine's, and before that at Shipley, so she has a lot of experience of what is needed in this type of hospital.

The new hospital replaces the downstairs ward at St Catherine's Hospital in Manningham, which had 16 beds and took patients from central and eastern parts of Bradford. So, although there are only 2 more beds in total, the provision of services for this area is improved.

Lesley was consulted about the design and planning of the building, so she had been given the chance to say where facilities should be. So, for instance, the main nurses' station is right in the middle of the ward area, so they can keep an eye on everyone. There are two patient bathrooms (with all the latest hoist equipment) instead of the one at St Catherine's. There's a guest room for relatives of those who perhaps are in need of constant care. There are two laundry rooms, one at each end of the building, to cut down on nurses trailing around all day. The patients' day room is very attractive, and all the rooms have lovely decoration and facilities.

"And what do you want from the local church?" I asked her, after the tour. "The Rev'd Bob Hill at Manningham used to visit every 2 or 3 weeks and chat with anyone who wanted to see him," she replied. "I'd be delighted if someone could do that. If someone wanted prayer or a little service there are lots of little rooms which could be used here. And we could put your photo up on the board."

So maybe that's a ministry our church should focus on? It so happens that the PCC has decided to cut down on Wednesday morning services, as it seems that few people want to come. The idea is that we should concentrate more on services which people do want. So we hope to start a regular service at The Poplars - and maybe a regular event at the Hospital would be a good move too?

John Hartley

Eccleshill Community Hospital & Out-Patient Unit,
450 Harrogate Road BD10 0JE. 01274 323100.

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. March 2004, Page 4.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: (March 2004) Vicar's letter, Lent Course, New Hospital, Church Survey, Not the Sabbath? Annual Reports.	Eccleshill Community Hospital On the site of the former Eccleshill High School, the new Hospital opened on 28th January. It's in Greengates parish, so I checked with the Vicar of Greengates before I went to the open day on 27th. The hospital has 18 beds and aims to do roughly the same as Shipley Hospital does for this area, offering recovery and rehabilitation after serious operations, where the patients don't need access to acute services or high-dependency care. Lesley, the matron and manager of the hospital, showed us round. She has worked for several years at St Catherine's, and before that at Shipley, so she has a lot of experience of what is needed in this type of hospital. The new hospital replaces the downstairs ward at St Catherine's Hospital in Manningham, which had 16 beds and took patients from central and eastern parts of Bradford. So, although there are only 2 more beds in total, the provision of services for this area is improved. Lesley was consulted about the design and planning of the building, so she had been given the chance to say where facilities should be. So, for instance, the main nurses' station is right in the middle of the ward area, so they can keep an eye on everyone. There are two patient bathrooms (with all the latest hoist equipment) instead of the one at St Catherine's. There's a guest room for relatives of those who perhaps are in need of constant care. There are two laundry rooms, one at each end of the building, to cut down on nurses trailing around all day. The patients' day room is very attractive, and all the rooms have lovely decoration and facilities. "And what do you want from the local church?" I asked her, after the tour. "The Rev'd Bob Hill at Manningham used to visit every 2 or 3 weeks and chat with anyone who wanted to see him," she replied. "I'd be delighted if someone could do that. If someone wanted prayer or a little service there are lots of little rooms which could be used here. And we could put your photo up on the board." So maybe that's a ministry our church should focus on? It so happens that the PCC has decided to cut down on Wednesday morning services, as it seems that few people want to come. The idea is that we should concentrate more on services which people do want. So we hope to start a regular service at The Poplars - and maybe a regular event at the Hospital would be a good move too? John Hartley Eccleshill Community Hospital & Out-Patient Unit, 450 Harrogate Road BD10 0JE. 01274 323100.
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