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St Andrew's
The Police Treatment
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The Police Treatment
Centres.
St Andrew's
A brief History of St Andrew's.
A Police
Institute in London.
The
youngest daughter of Joseph Gurney, a shorthand writer to the Houses of
Parliament, Catherine Gurney was a deeply religious woman who worked
with the poor communities of Wandsworth, London. This is where her
interest in the police service grew; it is said Miss Gurney was grateful
for the protection of the police officers working in the area where she
held her men’s bible classes and wanted to repay their kindness. Catherine Gurney wasn’t the only philanthropist in her family and in fact the Gurney family as a whole was instrumental in starting the International Christian Police Association, an organisation which still exists today. The first police convalescent home was opened in 1893 in Hove on the south coast. It was funded initially by supporters of the police from within the local community and was maintained through the endowment of beds by police forces. The Police Seaside Home allowed officers to convalesce after injury or illness. Pneumonia and other such illnesses were prevalent at the time due to officers spending many hours pounding the beat in all weathers. Not content with looking after police officers Catherine Gurney turned her attention to their families and founded an orphanage for police children in Redhill. The same members of the community funded the orphanage as had funded the convalescent home. The Southern Provincial Police School catered for children of officers who had been killed or had died. What prompted her to make this move was the discovery of five police children in a county workhouse. Their father had died and their mother could no longer look after them; a story typical of the era. After a few years there were calls for the homes in the south to be replicated in the North. Catherine Gurney already had connections in the North of England through the Southern Orphanage which received children from the Manchester and Salford Orphanage and Benevolent Fund. Story has it that Miss Gurney was crossing The Stray in Harrogate when she met a policeman and asked him if he knew of a suitable place for an orphanage. He directed her to St George's, a Boys’ School on Otley Road that was for sale and so she settled on Harrogate as the location for her next projects. St George’s House, the Northern Police Orphanage, was purchased for £10,000. Money was raised by Catherine Gurney’s personal visits made in neighbouring towns and districts to people whose names were given to her by the police as being supportive of the police force. Miss Gurney also raised loans and paid the interest privately. Originally half the building was used by children and the other half by convalescing police officers until 1899 when the demand by police officers became so high that it was decided a new home should be built on the same plot. The orphanage was similar in structure to the current Police Treatment Centre building and used to occupy the land which is now known as Swinton Court, on the corner of Harlow Moor Road and Otley Road.
At the ceremony for the
laying of the foundation stone in 1902, a newspaper quotes that "a
platform was arranged and decorated with flags and bunting in order to
accommodate the guests. The children of the Orphanage were looking
remarkably smart as they led the singing of the hymns in a praiseworthy
manner, accompanied by the City of Sheffield Police Band".
Many speeches were made
over the years, one worthy of note contained in the Annual Report of
1908 - 09 included the following summary as described by an unnamed
member of
the Committee: In 1914 it was suggested that the home should be offered as a hospital for the sick & wounded returning from the war, but it was felt that there was an equally pressing need for providing treatment for Police Officers. The Committee did decide, however, to provide fifteen beds free of charge, to be at the disposal of the War Office.
Various expenditure was
incurred in the next few years, including a billiard room in 1924,
provided at a cost of
£1,409.6s.7d.,
and in 1926 the
first car was purchased for the transport of patients (the cost of which
was borne by the Leeds City and Liverpool Police). In 1928 the Home was
visited by Her Royal Highness the Princess Mary, when she performed the
official opening of a new wing at the Orphanage. Some old photographs of St Andrew's facilities circa 1927
It was officially recorded
that at the time of the death of Miss Gurney in 1930, a total of 12,644
patients had been admitted and treated at the home - surely a most
creditable performance.
Superintendents and CEO's of The Police Treatment Centres.
The Police Treatment Centre, Harrogate, 2011
The St George's Police
Children Trust, a charity registered in England, was founded in the 1950's with
the proceeds derived from the sale and closure of St George's House,
Northern Police Orphanage. The Trust is supported by voluntary donations
from serving police officers primarily in the northern forces of England, Wales, Scotland
and from the general public. Patron: the Patron of the Police Treatment Centres is HRH The Duke of York and the President is the Hon. Simon Howard of Castle Howard in York. The charity has a Board of Trustees providing strategic guidance, while the management of operations is overseen by the Chief Executive of the Police Treatment Centres. Prince Andrew visits Police Treatment Centre, Harrogate.
The Duke of
York has today (22 May 2013) opened the refurbished St
Andrews Police Treatment Centre in Harrogate.
The St Andrews completed refurbishment includes a new Physiotherapy Dept. new Rehab Gym, new changing rooms as well as improving accessibility and patient facilities. The cost of nearly £3 million was met by fundraising including a £1.3 million Home Office grant and a £250,000 grant from the Police Dependants Trust. A target of £1m for the final phase of refurbishment, the Duke of York Wing, was set in January 2012 and this was heavily supported in May 2012 with the announcement of a further Home Office grant of £500,000 which stipulated all the work must be completed by the end of March 2013 and this was achieved. The refurbishment has brought the 23 bedrooms and the patients Blue Lounge up to modern standards with two rooms especially designed and refurbished for patients with poor mobility and bariatric issues. Research has shown that bright and modern surroundings help patients improve their health more quickly and this is borne out by frequent very positive feedback from patients about the overall standard of accommodation.
To
read more and view the video click on the following link:
Deus vult
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