Health care trust celebrates 90 years of Wrightington Hospital

The occasion was marked by the opening of a new Enhanced Care Unit (ECU) which will provide an superior level of care for complex and medical surgical patients on the site. This will allow for patients to be treated and discharged appropriately at Wrightington, rather than possibly being transferred to Wigan Infirmary first.

Speaking at the official opening, WWL’s Medical Director, Prof Sanjay Arya said: “I’m honoured to officially open the ECU which will greatly benefit our patient experience with patients receiving all the appropriate care they need at Wrightington Hospital.

"Wrightington is one of the top hospitals in the world, and it is because of the work that is being done here and the staff who work here. It is great to open a new facility which will further benefit our patients during the 90th Birthday celebrations.

“The staff who work on this unit are passionate about providing the best level of care for patients at Wrightington and they should be proud of what has been achieved here.”

The celebrations continued across the hospital with various wards and departments hosting best dressed competitions to commemorate nine decades.

Opening on June 18 1933, it was originally a site developed for the treatment of tuberculosis but the facilities services changed and it began to specialise in hip and orthopedic surgery and rheumatology following the creation of the National Health Service in 1948.

Much of this work was led by Prof Sir John Charnley who performed the first ever total hip replacement operation at Wrightington in 1962, and the hospital is now renowned as a centre of excellence for musculoskeletal conditions and is the Greater Manchester Hub for orthopaedics.

When the first hip replacement procedures took place, patients were often in hospital for up to 18 months but today some individuals can be discharged within one day.

Taking inspiration from Charnley’s work were the winners of the best dressed ward - the John Charnley Wing - who gave a potted history of Charnley and hip replacements alongside a fabulous display of paintings and cartoons of John Charnley, mannequins dressed in theatre scrubs from the Charnley era as well as displays of old hip replacements compared to new.

Second place was D Ward with a Hip Hop Hurray display featuring staff past and present, followed by the outpatients department who dressed in unifroms of days gone by.

Sweet treats were also on offer throughout the day after staff participated in a Bake-Off competition, won by Lotte Hendriksen, who had been at Wrightington on an observation placement as part of her college studies. Cakes from the competition were later sold off to raise £119.72 to be donated between Wrightington’s League of Friends and the Wrightington Wish Fund.

Peter Allard, a WWL governor who helped to judge the competitions, said: “It has been a privilege to be invited to attend the celebrations here at Wrightington and a pleasure to have been asked to be part of the judging panel for the bake off and best dressed ward or department to commemorate Wrightington turning 90 years old.”

Sarah Russell, Lead Physiotherapist and part of the team who organised the celebrations said: “It was brilliant to welcome everyone and great to see so many staff and people involved in the 90th birthday fun, we are a real family here at Wrightington and it was special to be able to celebrate together.”