PICTURE SPECIAL - Looking back at the first 25 years of Kettering's Cransley Hospice

Over the past 25 years, staff at Kettering’s Cransley Hospice have helped thousands of patients and their families at the most difficult time of their lives.

2023 marks the 25th anniversary of the opening of the hospice at St Mary’s Hospital in Kettering where patients receive free, specialist, individualised care to support them and their families.

Before the hospice had its own space, hospital patients who were approaching the end of their life had been cared for in the Cransley Ward at St Mary’s Hospital by palliative medicine consultant Dr John Smith.

With only one hospice in the county – Cynthia Spencer Hospice in Northampton – Dr Smith wanted patients in the north of the county to be able to access care.

Rev Dr John Smith said: “The Cransley Ward had provided excellent care for in-patients but there was no room for out-patients, family support or counselling – all important components of palliative care in the hospice and the community.

“When ExtraCare won the contract for managing long-stay patients in St Mary’s in the new Sunley Court building, I asked if they could build a new Cransley alongside, and to my surprise they agreed. It wasn’t perfect but it could offer so much more, and it has, for 25 years.”

Since opening Cransley Hospice has cared for thousands of people in the community with life-limiting illnesses.

After many years of dedicated fundraising by a small NHS Charity team, Cransley Hospice Trust, an independent charity, was created in 2012.

Over the years, many doctors, nurses and medical students have received training at Cransley Hospice creating a hub for medics, close to Kettering General Hospital with X-ray, CT and MRI scanning facilities.

In 2005 Dr Smith retired but by then a hospice unit was well established with specialist palliative care consultants.

Anniversary celebrations kicked off on January 25, with the unveiling of a special commemorative stone on the the Kettering Timeline by mayor of Kettering Cllr Keli Watts.

This month sees the launch of the Cransley Hospice Trust fundraiser #25for25Challenge which will run until January 2024.