Countess Of Chester Hospital

24/10/2025

If you’ve been affected by drugs or alcohol, or supported someone who has, this is your chance to help shape local services. Survey open until 25 November. For more information 👉 www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/drugandalcoholservices

22/10/2025

Please only visit our A&E [Emergency Department] if it is urgent.

If you’re unsure what to do, you can:
☑️ Go to NHS 111 online for quick and easy advice: https://ow.ly/HxGw50Xg8cL
☑️ Call NHS 111
☑️ Visit https://ow.ly/qMRW50Xg8cK for a guide to conditions, symptoms and treatments
☑️ Also use 'Pharmacy First' for help with any minor health conditions: https://ow.ly/TJva50Xg8cJ

To find a pharmacy that's open near you, search; 'Find a pharmacy NHS'

You can read more about options on our website here: https://ow.ly/WQr550Xg8cN

21/10/2025

Let’s quit together this .

Quitting smoking is one of the best decisions you can make – for your health, your family, and your finances. 💙

At our Trust, our Treating To***co Dependency Service is here to help:

🧑‍⚕️ Expert support from admission through to 12 weeks smoke-free
💊 Free ni****ne replacement therapy
🤝 A caring team ready to guide you every step of the way! Already helping patients quit, our team is passionate about creating positive change. Here are some of the patient comments.

“They were amazing in hospital, helping with tools to quit.”
“Very helpful. I have not smoked for two months.”

📩 Speak with your ward team if you'd like to stop smoking – our in-house specialists will be happy to visit and see how they can support you.

You don’t have to do it alone. Let’s make this Stoptober your fresh start.

Please contact the service via 01244 364142 or coch.smokefree@nhs.net

20/10/2025

Have you booked your free NHS flu vaccination? 💉

Check if you’re eligible and book online or via the NHS App. 📅

🔗 https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/vaccination-and-booking-services/book-flu-vaccination/

17/10/2025

🎉 Meet Kirsty: our North West Rising Star! 🌟

From apprentice to Service Manager, Kirsty Simmonds has grown her NHS career right here at the Countess – and now she’s been named North West Rising Star of the Year at the National Apprenticeship and Skills Awards, the government's Department for Education! 🏆

Starting at 16, Kirsty’s completed four NHS apprenticeships (yes, four!) and now leads service management in our Women and Children’s Division. Her journey is a powerful example of how investing in people leads to better care for our community 💙

Next stop: London! Kirsty will represent the North West at the national finals in November. Let’s cheer her on! 👏

🔗 Read her full story: https://www.coch.nhs.uk/corporate-information/news/countess-of-chester-hospital%E2%80%99s-kirsty-simmonds-named-north-west-rising-star-of-the-year-at-government-awards.aspx

16/10/2025

🚂 Thomas the Tank trolley – our crown jewel on wheels

He’s not just a trolley. He’s Thomas – and he’s been delivering meals (and smiles) to our young patients at the Countess of Chester Hospital for over 30 years 💙

Originally gifted by the Chester Lions Charity, Thomas is a local legend, a comfort on wheels, and quite possibly the hardest-working member of Team Countess.

On World Food Day, we’re celebrating the power of food to nourish, comfort, and connect – and Thomas has been part of that story every single day.

If Thomas had a full house every day, by now he will have…

📊 Served 1.1 million meals
📏 Travelled 2,000+ miles around the ward (🚗 the same as 40 round trips to Liverpool)
🍕 Delivered countless favourites: pizzas, sausages, and jacket potatoes with cheese & beans

And all that… without a puff of steam or a lump of coal.

🌱 Zero emissions. Maximum smiles.

We’ve moved into our new Women & Children’s Building, but Thomas is still rolling – proof that sustainability isn’t just about new ideas, it’s about keeping what works, matters, and makes people feel at home.

💬 Did Thomas ever deliver your dinner tray?
💬 Have you or your little one met Thomas in our new building yet?

👋Hey @ Thomas and Friends – reckon he’s earned his spot on Sodor? 👀

15/10/2025

This is going to help so many more patients to get the care they need in the right place, first time:

CWP has released a preview of the new urgent care response centre which is set to open in Chester next year.

Based on the Countess of Chester Health Park, the new £3.5 unit will work alongside the Countess of Chester Hospital, North West Ambulance Service and Cheshire Police, reducing the need for people experiencing a mental health crisis to attend A&E.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3J2hDie

13/10/2025

🌟 Good luck, Maria! 🌟

Today, our very own Maria Hughes, the Countess of Chester Hospital’s first tissue viability nurse consultant, is attending the prestigious Women of the Year Awards 2025 in London! 👏

Maria is one of just 400 women handpicked from across the UK for making an extraordinary difference in her profession and community. As a Queen’s Nurse, she’s helped transform wound care at the Countess – improving healing, reducing pain, and saving lives. 💙

Since joining us in April last year, Maria has led improvements that have reduced hospital-acquired pressure ulcers by 20%, introduced innovative dressings, and helped reinvest thousands of pounds back into patient care. 🏥

We’re incredibly proud of Maria’s leadership, compassion, and innovation. Her recognition today shines a light on the amazing work of our Tissue Viability Team and the wider nursing community.

✨ Go Maria – we’re all behind you! ✨

Read more about Maria's incredible career: https://ow.ly/Pg9p50XatGP

10/10/2025

This week, we’re sharing the story of Rowen Emmett O-Toole, Milo’s mum, whose milk donation in his memory helped shape the Memory Milk Gift initiative at the Countess Milk Bank.

Her experience inspired Lactation After Loss – a free NHS course developed by our Milk Bank and Newcastle Hospitals to help staff feel confident having sensitive, informed conversations with families about milk donation after loss. Over 500 NHS professionals have already taken part, and the course was recently shortlisted for a national award.

💙 As part of Baby Loss Awareness Week, we’re also inviting families to join our Ribbon Remembrance Walk:
🗓️ Saturday 11 October, 3pm
📍 Countess of Chester Country Park (next to our main hospital, where this video was shot)
Walk the ribbon-lined route to the Milk Bank’s Remembrance Garden, write your baby’s name on a ribbon, and join us for tea, coffee and cake.
Family-friendly event – children may be present.

And if you’d like to take part in a community-led service:
🕯️ Baby Loss Service at Chester Cathedral
🗓️ Sunday 19 October, 3.30pm
📍 Chester Cathedral, CH1 2DY
Open to all. No booking needed. Refreshments available.

09/10/2025

📮 World Post Day: smarter post, better value

Today we’re celebrating the quiet brilliance of our Facilities and Post Room teams – they are the people behind the scenes helping us to communicate better with patients and are trying new ideas to make every penny count.

This year, smarter postal choices underway – like switching non-urgent letters to second class and using better-sized envelopes – could save £128,000.

💡 That’s enough to fund around:
• 800 outpatient appointments
• 400 MRI scans
• 119 cataract surgeries
• 18 knee replacements.

And that’s not all…

Since launching our Patient Engagement Portal last year, we’ve sent over 1 million digital appointment reminders – meaning fewer letters and better attendance. Thanks to more personalised and interactive online communication with patients, we’re now one of the top-performing hospitals in the country for appointments being kept, with significantly fewer missed appointments than the national average.

The portal has also saved 400 hours of phone calls and around £75,000 a year – and this will continue to grow as we go more digital. That’s the equivalent of another:
• 468 outpatient appointments
• 234 MRI scans
• 70 cataract surgeries
• 10 knee replacements.

💙 Thank you to the teams working behind the scenes to make every message count, and every pound go further.

07/10/2025

One week to go until Restart a Heart Day!

When Claire Slater, a trainee advanced clinical practitioner at the Countess of Chester Hospital, witnessed a medical emergency while off duty recently, she didn’t hesitate. Despite being out of uniform and without equipment, she stepped in to perform CPR - helping to save a life.

She later described the experience as “like a fish out of water,” and shared how emotionally overwhelming it was to respond without her usual team or support. Claire’s story is a powerful reminder that cardiac arrests don’t just happen in hospitals - and that knowing CPR can make all the difference in whether someone feels confident to step forward and take life-saving action.

💔 In the UK, there are over 30,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year where emergency services attempt resuscitation. Yet fewer than 1 in 10 people survive.

💓 That’s why we’re inviting you to join us for Restart a Heart Day:
📅 Tuesday 14 October
📍 Chester Cathedral Gardens
🕙 10am–2pm

Learn CPR, try a defib, and take home resources for all ages. Let’s build a community that’s confident and ready to act when every second counts.

We hope to see as many of you there as possible!

➡️ Read more about Claire's story here: https://ow.ly/EEA650WWTHT