Category: Clinical Services

An old black and white newspaper photograph captures a unique moment in the lives of grandparents Christopher and Christine Jones.

The couple were babes in arms on the image taken in a maternity unit on Christmas Day 1954.

But not only was Chris there on the day his future wife was born – he was also by Christine’s side when she died 69 years later.

A remarkable twist of fate for a couple who were married for 49 years, mostly spent living in Macclesfield.

Christine and Chris Jones celebrate their 40^th wedding anniversary.

Christine died of bowel cancer at East Cheshire Hospice in January, two years after diagnosis.

Her life will be celebrated by close friend Kathryn Cronin, a florist who has a special installation at the RHS Flower Show at Tatton Park from Wednesday, July 17, to Sunday July 21.

Her display called ‘Threshold – On Life and Living’ will raise awareness of the Hospice’s work and its motto ‘where people come to live.’

Flashback to Christmas Day 1954. Christine held by her mum Margaret on the right of the picture. Husband Chris is held by a man with an eyepatch in front of the tree.

Christine appeared in the local paper because she was a Christmas Day baby, like her younger sister Carol.

Husband Chris was born prematurely three months earlier in the same Aberystwyth hospital and was still in the baby unit because his brother had mumps, preventing him from going home.

Dr Jones said: “I think it’s quite unusual that I dovetailed Christine’s life. The photograph shows I was there the day she was born and I was there the day she passed, holding her hand in the Hospice being looked after wonderfully by the staff there.

“We went to the same secondary school and met at a sixth form dance. About two years later we had a chat about Christmas Day babies and that’s when the story came out.”

Christine helped at a playgroup at St John’s Primary School and became a classroom assistant when she joined Westlands and Eaton Bank in Congleton.

Son Paul and daughter Kathryn, and grandchildren Frankie (12), Florence (9), Violet (6) and Eden (6) were also grateful for the way the Hospice cared for Christine.

Christine and Chris with grandchildren (from left) Florence, Violet and Frankie in 2022.  

Dr Jones said: “The Hospice were superb and made you feel like you were the only patient there.

“What brought it home was when we went to collect Christine’s belongings after she passed. Another patient arrives like we did two weeks earlier so the system carries on, but also you feel like family; they were so kind, calming and reassuring.”

Installing advanced technology at the new Sunflower Living Well Centre was a dream job for the IT team at East Cheshire Hospice.

Head of IT Conor Stubbs and technician Paul Jones were delighted to be asked to incorporate a smart system into designs.

Visitors to the £1.3m complex can see the results of their endeavours with the latest equipment making sessions a far better experience for patients and staff.

Everything is at the touch of a button with presentations beamed on to a giant wall.

IT experts Conor Stubbs (left) and Paul Jones in front of the one of projections at the Sunflower Living Well Centre.

A corridor leads to individual rooms meaning the central area is no longer a thoroughfare as before.

Conor said: “Patients and staff will hopefully enjoy the benefits of the smart technology. It’s been an exciting project to work on.

“The existing building was essentially reworked with the old framework of the main area taken out to raise the roof. Cabling was reset for IT requirements.

“Lights are smart controlled which means they can choose different pre-sets for relaxation scenes. Lights will dim, blinds close and the projectors and sound are controlled by iPad.”

The new centre opened to patients last month after healthcare professionals attended open days.

Paul said: “The colours are dementia friendly putting patients at ease. Staff love it and projectors, lights and sound create scenes to help patients relax.

“Every patient has different capacities and needs and this facility benefits them all.”

The aim is to widen access to community groups, including non-Hospice users, with evening and weekend sessions offering more flexibility.

East Cheshire Hospice now needs to find a staggering £9,362 a day to keep its doors open.

The daily cost represents a near 25 per cent increase on the old figure of £7,500.

The new total, calculated on average costs over the last five years, excludes the 21 per cent of income received from government.

That percentage has risen from 17 per cent but is still well below the 30 per cent hospices receive on average nationally from public funds.

East Cheshire’s slight rise in NHS support is due to the extra community services it now provides.

The Hospice has also calculated that a single overnight stay in its inpatient unit costs £740.

The increases are due to a combination of factors.

The cost of providing care at the Hospice has gone up.

Energy bills have gone up, as have staff wages with the Hospice committed to matching NHS salaries.

The cost of equipment and building maintenance also rose as part of the cost-of-living crisis.

The £7,500 figure needed daily also excluded the charity’s popular Hospice @ Home service which started in 2017.

The total cost of running the Hospice, which provides more services than ever before, is around £5.6m a year.

The modernised Sunflower Living Well Centre will have the capacity to support 400 individual and family members each week, more than twice the previous number.

Importantly, the complex will allow more than one service to run at any one time, giving the Hospice further scope to handle the changing complexity of healthcare needs.

Income Generation Director Rachel Allcock said: “The fact we need to raise £9,362 a day to run the Hospice emphasises more than ever the need to continue to generate funds.

Rachel Allcock, Income Generation Director at East Cheshire Hospice.

“The amazing goodwill and generosity of the public, our corporate supporters and our hard- working staff and volunteers keeps us going and we thank them sincerely for their ongoing support.

“The model used to calculate our costs allows us to update the figures easily.

“We deliver a lot more services than we did before so the sum we need to raise is far more up to date, reflecting the scale of the challenge we face in difficult economic times.”