25th Anniversary of St Ann's Hospice,
Little Hulton

May 1979 Her Royal Highness,
Princess Anne attends the official opening of the site at Little Hulton accompanied
by Matron Jean Gibbs

2004 marks the 25th Anniversary of the opening of St Ann's Hospice Little Hulton site in 1979.

Over the past 25 years, our site at Little Hulton has developed immensely from its beginnings in 1979. In the intervening years, the staff have grown in numbers to a current total of 120 in 2004, supported by 228 committed volunteers.

The site started with 30 Inpatient beds, two of which have been further developed into family rooms where family can stay with the patient. The Moya Cole Day Therapy Centre opened in 1992 as a result of a £1 million appeal and is open five days a week providing supportive Outpatient and Medical Palliative Care Clinics, with Day Care available on three days from 10am-3pm.

In 1998 a large conservatory was added to the Day Therapy Centre and 2003 saw a further development to this area with the completion of the 'Renaissance project'. With the aid of a grant, volunteers transformed the conservatory, which was badly in need of refurbishing. The flooring, blinds and furniture were all completely replaced and the conservatory is now one of the major meeting places at Little Hulton for patients, visitors and staff.

Another addition to the site since its opening has been the children's conservatory. This was opened in 2002 providing a welcoming environment for children and is another example of how staff at St Ann¹s Hospice continually strive to improve our services, not only to patients, but also families and carers.

Over the course of the past quarter-century there have been many changes in our teams, however, there are four members of the original staff at Little Hulton who were present at the launch 25 years ago and are still with St Ann's, namely Staff Nurse Carol Hinds, Staff Nurse Denise Mather, Auxiliary Nurse Sue Burton and Auxiliary Nurse Kath Barry.

The events to be held over the year will help to raise money for the ongoing maintenance and development of the Little Hulton site and will be part of a £1 million appeal that St Ann's Hospice will be running over the next 3 years to raise money for refurbishment and growth of all three Hospice sites.

We will celebrate in style over the forthcoming year with our supporters, volunteers and local community, following an official launch on the 7th April and we take this opportunity to invite you along to the open day on the 7th April from 11.00am onwards to have a tour of the site and see just what has changed over the years. This special date marks the reception of the first ever patients to the site in 1979.