![\"Group](\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/02\/1926-Jan-sod-pic-Trafford-General-300x200.jpg\")
![\"Group](\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/02\/Trafford-Centenary-pic-30.01.2026-Group-Picture--scaled-300x200.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA special tree planting event was held at Trafford General Hospital to mark 100 years since\u00a0work started on the hospital that went on to become the very first hospital in the NHS\u00a0and transform healthcare.<\/p>\n
Staff past and present gathered at Trafford General Hospital for a special tree planting ceremony and to recreate a photo from back when the building work began as the hospital still houses the very spade that started the\u00a0development\u00a0100 years ago.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Barton-upon-Irwell workhouse and hospital\u00a0in\u00a0Patricroft\u00a0had become inadequate and a new hospital was\u00a0required.<\/p>\n
The Poor Law Guardians,\u00a0elected parish officials\u00a0of the\u00a0time, wanted\u00a0to build a modern,\u00a0state-of-the-art\u00a0hospital\u00a0which was not just for the poor and needy, but for anyone who needed medical help,\u00a0irrespective of their financial means.\u00a0They felt that the new hospital should\u00a0be\u00a0located\u00a0in\u00a0a healthy environment,\u00a0away from the\u00a0then smoky industrial\u00a0urban area of\u00a0Patricroft.<\/p>\n
A Guardian at the time noted: \u201cthe hospital should be where there is fresh air,\u00a0where trees and plants would grow and where birds would sing\u201d.<\/p>\n
The current site was\u00a0chosen\u00a0and work began in January 1926, opening as a\u00a0Park\u00a0Hospital in 1929.<\/p>\n
In\u00a01948\u00a0the\u00a0early foresight of the Guardian\u2019s was\u00a0acknowledged\u00a0and rewarded\u00a0as then\u00a0health minister, Nye Bevan, chose it to\u00a0become the birthplace of the NHS.\u00a0Furthering the Guardian\u2019s\u00a0ethos,\u00a0it became the first hospital in the world to deliver\u00a0free healthcare to all.<\/p>\n
Kathy Cowell, Chair of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said: \u201cWe\u2019re incredibly proud of Trafford General Hospital for both the significant history it holds and the quality services it provides. That pride is evident in all our staff and it\u2019s been so special to hold this event with staff past and present.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been fascinating hearing\u00a0more\u00a0about the history of the site and\u00a0I hope we\u2019ve honoured the forward-thinking Guardians of 1926 by adding a lovely new tree to Trafford\u2019s green surroundings.\u201d<\/p>\n Amongst the current staff taking part in the celebrations was Anne Sullivan, Theatre Sister at Trafford General Hospital. She’s recently hit 50 years’ service with the NHS, 36 years of which she\u2019s served at Trafford. She said: \u201cIt\u2019s been very poignant for me today as the site where the tree has been planted used to be where the housing was for nurses when I was doing my training in the late 70\u2019s.<\/p>\n \u201cTrafford General is a lovely hospital to work, it\u2019s got a strong community and staff and patients alike are very proud of it, and the key role it has played in history, I’m very proud to be a nurse here.\u201d<\/p>\n Edmund Hoare worked at Trafford General Hospital for 26 years as a consultant surgeon\u00a0and has taken a keen interest in its history. He\u00a0wrote\u00a0\u2018Park Hospital\u00a0Davyhulme: Birthplace of the\u00a0NHS\u2019,\u00a0<\/em>together with co-author Michael Billington. He\u00a0was delighted to return to see former colleagues for the event: \u201cTrafford General Hospital holds a special place in my heart, and I enjoyed\u00a0very happy\u00a0years working here.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Poor Law founders built\u00a0a state-of-the-art\u00a0hospital with a philosophy of treating all irrespective of their means. I like to think Nye Bevan is looking down and is delighted to see the hospital,\u00a0at which he inaugurated the NHS,\u00a0is still fulfilling his vision\u201d<\/p>\n In recent years there has been significant investment into the services and estate at Trafford\u00a0General Hospital\u00a0to keep it leading the way in healthcare. There has been the development of the elective surgery hub, robotic\u00a0surgery\u00a0and investment of \u00a314m\u00a0into\u00a0two new theatres to increase the capacity to carry out 240 elective day surgery cases a week reducing waiting times for patients.<\/p>\n Keeping the historic\u00a0site\u00a0sustainable has also been a key priority and \u00a318.9m investment from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme was secured to deliver innovative improvements to the\u00a0heating\u00a0system, helping reduce energy usage by 92% and energy costs\u00a0by over \u00a3100,000 a year, whilst keeping the site fit for the next 100 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A special tree planting event was held at Trafford General Hospital to mark 100 years since\u00a0work started on the hospital that went on to become the very first hospital in the NHS\u00a0and transform healthcare. Staff past and present gathered at Trafford General Hospital for a special tree planting ceremony and to recreate a photo from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":1839,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Anne](\"https:\/\/mft.nhs.uk\/app\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/02\/Anne-Sullivan-Edmund-Hoare-Kathy-Cowell-and-Stephen-Dickson-CEO-of-Trafford-Hospital-plant-a-new-tree-with-the-original-spad-scaled-200x300.jpg\")