Beccles Hospital hosts public event to celebrate 100 years of care

Beccles Hospital was opened in 1924 by Major General Sir Anthony Bowlby, commanding officer of the 54th East Anglian Division

A Suffolk hospital is celebrating its centenary with a public display of historical artefacts and photographs.

Beccles Hospital was built on land donated by Alexander Elliot and was opened on 24 February 1924.

The town's residents had donated £7,000 towards its construction, which eventually cost a mere £12,000.

Former nurse Pam Hardman said: "I have very happy memories and we gave a good service to the town and to the people of Beccles."

The hospital housed just 24 beds when it opened

The hospital, which is run by East Coast Community Healthcare (ECCH), had just 24 beds when it opened, and boasted an operating theatre for many years.

In 2017, £1.65m was spent transforming it into an intermediate care unit with inpatient facilities for those requiring medical care but not needing acute support in a general hospital.

A new day room was created at the same time thanks to the charity League of Friends (LOF), which is hosting an event over the weekend.

Ms Hardman, who is also an LOF trustee, continued: "Having worked there all my working life, the hospital means an awful lot to me."

As a local facility, Ms Hardman remembered it being "like home" for many patients.

In 2022, the hospital replaced paper patient records with a digital monitoring system, which linked directly to patients' GPs

Together with another former nurse, Maureen Saunders, Ms Hardman wrote a book named Beccles and its Hospital - A Century of Caring, copies of which will be auctioned at the celebration event and proceeds going to the charity.

The great grandchildren of Alexander Elliot will be in attendance, as well as the town's mayor Christine Wheeler, members of LOF, ECCH and Beccles Medical Centre, which now shares the site.

The display of historical photographs, books and artefacts will inform visitors of the role the hospital had in the community, and how it has adapted and changed over the years.

It will be open to the public between 15:00 and 17:00 GMT on Saturday, and between 10:00 and 17:00 on Sunday.