ICU staff from The Royal Oldham Hospital were recently invited by Shaw and Crompton Parish Council to attend a special ceremony dedicating a commemorative bench and tree to NHS staff for all their hard work looking after patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ward Sister Rachel Diskin and Ward Clerk Alyson Hopkinson were invited to meet members of the parish council, who thanked the health and social care workers in Oldham for the care and treatment they have given to patients throughout the pandemic.
Rachel and Alyson were asked to unveil a new commemorative bench in Shaw Memorial Park, Westway. The bench has been specially commissioned by Shaw and Crompton Parish Council, who set aside funds to create a bench dedicated to the memory of all the residents of Shaw and Crompton who have been lost to the pandemic and to the NHS staff who helped care for them. The event also included the planting of an oak tree and erection of a special plaque to mark the amazing contribution of all key workers during the pandemic.
Speaking on behalf of the Parish Council, Councillor Susan Moore expressed her thanks to NHS staff and key workers in Oldham. She said: “We thank the key workers within and beyond the NHS and social care system who worked tirelessly and at great personal risk to treat and care for those affected by this brutal disease.
“We also feel the acute sadness of those who have lost loved ones as a result of the virus. We are driven to help those people feel a little less lonely and isolated by providing a public place in which to remember and reflect.”