| Date | 24 June 2011 |
|---|---|
| Source | Slough Observer |
| Reference | VP-0135 |
| Volume | Views of the Past |
| Collection | Press Clippings |
Transcript
History of saving lives – mine too!
Many of my readers would have read of the successful reopening of the restored Herschel Park earlier in May.
What a successful story that has been with £2.7m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
However, not many people know that the evening preceding it I was rushed to hospital with a killer infection — necrotising fasciitis. Normally, after the first few hours of getting this infection, one normally dies, but I can say by writing this, I survived thanks to the superb healthcare professionals at Wexham Park Hospital. This is a predicament that many of us take for granted. I was actually in the intensive care unit for over a week.
So how did Wexham Park Hospital come about?
During the early Edwardian period, hospitals had been founded in Windsor and Maidenhead, but there was no hospital in Slough. In terms of hospital provision, Slough was a relatively slow starter in providing a hospital in the Slough locality. The main factor for Slough getting a hospital was the ever-growing Slough Trading Estate.
By 1940, the Upton Emergency Hospital was located in a building which used to be part of the old Eton Union Workhouse. As early as 1938, plans were in place for a new hospital for Slough.
It was not until 1947 that the site for a new hospital was purchased by the trustees of the Slough Hospital Committee. The hospital was to be used for both treating patients and also the establishment of a nursing school.
Wexham Park Hospital was opened on May 6, 1966, by Hon Keith Robinson MP, Minister of Health.
Much of the 1960s features of the hospital remain unchanged, though in most cases have been updated to cater for its current patient welfare.
These include the four operating theatres and four bed wards – which for a lot of time I was in. I cannot thank enough all the doctors and nurses who saved my life – the work they do is absolutely amazing and vital to the local community.
I am now making excellent progress and hope to be out of the hospital very soon.
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