Former St Catherine’s Hospital staff hold reunion 30 years on

Sep 21 2011 by Linda Foo Guest, Birkenhead News

Former St Catherine’s Hospital staff hold reunion 30 years on

FORMER staff of the old St Catherine’s Hospital in Tranmere gathered for a reunion 30 years after it closed.

In 1982 the hospital’s general wards and midwifery section moved to Arrowe Park Hospital, although some community services remained on the Church Road site.

The Victorian building, began life as a workhouse before becoming a hospital.

The reunion for former staff took place at the Lever Club, Port Sunlight.

Retired nursing sister Margaret Fitzpatrick, who worked at St Catherine’s from 1958 to 1982, organised the get-together.

She told the News: “It was hailed a great success by all, more than 120 people came and some travelled from Ireland, Yorkshire, Lincoln, and Cambridge.

“There was a good cross section of the ex-staff present, including retired consultants, doctors, nurses, midwifes, nurse tutors and clerical staff.

“We had an excellent buffet and this was followed by some light-hearted speeches from retired consultant physician Dr John Meecham and consultant gynaecologist Mr Graham Spearing.

“We reminisced about the old St Cath's and the characters who worked there, even then fundraising was top of the agenda.

“Retired nurse tutor Mrs Mavis McNeilance talked about nurse education throughout the years, and retired clinical teacher Mrs Gwyneth Wall remembered the hospital as a workhouse before the NHS in 1948. She gave us all a very interesting insight into those days.

“Both Mrs McNeilance and Mrs Wall were delighted to meet up with many of their former students.

In more recent years Wirral PCT has used the hospital buildings for its headquarters, and the geriatric and psychiatry departments continued to function there.

Now it is being demolished to make way for a new communality treatment centre which will open in 2013.