St Peter’s Hospital opened its doors to welcome local people to their second Community Open Day on Saturday 15 July 2023; the first one since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The day was an outstanding success, with visitors of all ages attending and a fantastic atmosphere created throughout the Trust.
Visitors were able to look around and experience the hospital like never before with the opportunity to have a tour around one of our surgical theatres and other areas that wouldn’t ordinarily be open to the public, including our staff wellbeing centre and some of the estates and facilities operational rooms.
The feedback from all who attended was brilliant with comments such as ‘Fantastic day for all the family’, ‘Thanks for organising’, ‘Great to see so many people (patients) coming to the hospital on a social occasion rather than seeking/receiving treatment’ and ‘Fabulous atmosphere’, ‘Well done all’ posted on social media and the visitor comments board.
Children had the opportunity to get their faces painted, explore the inside of an ambulance, follow a Dinosaur trail and learn about what happens in their local hospital.
In addition to members of Team ASPH who were showcasing a diverse range of services and departments, we were also delighted to be joined by several local organisations and charities that came along to talk to people to help them understand the breadth of amazing services that are available across North West Surrey. Some of the organisations present included CSH Surrey, Runnymede Borough Council, CoCo Primary Care Network, Macmillan, Holme Farm, Action for Carers, Stanwell Events, Bourne Education Trust, Woking and Sam Beare Hospice, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, Healthwatch Surrey and colleagues from the Armed Forces 256 Regiment. Radio Wey created a lively atmosphere with plenty of music and helped to share the festivities by broadcasting live throughout the day.
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals Chairman Andy Field, said: “What a day! It was wonderful to welcome members of our local community back into the hospital after the pandemic. There is so much amazing work happening and it was great to share this with attendees. It provided a great opportunity to talk to people whether they were there in a professional capacity or just for the fun of the day. It was a great success.”
Chief Executive Julie Smith said: “What a fantastic day, we have been able to show local people our wonderful hospital and some of the key services we provide. Our staff have been able to talk to visitors about careers and promote some of the amazing work that happens every day. It’s been great to provide this opportunity for people of all ages to come together and look around a hospital in a way that they may not have been able to before. I’d like to thank everyone who attended, our colleagues who did a superb job on the day and also colleagues from local organisations who took time out of their weekend to join us - it was brilliant to see so many people come together.”
