THE past 15 months have been tumultuous for us all.

But perhaps it is those on the frontline, the medics, the carers, as well as those who have lost loved ones, who have felt the brunt of it more than anyone.

It’s why care staff providers Anglian Community Enterprise want to create a special outdoor space for staff and patients to reflect at Clacton Hospital.

ACE will be closing as a service on June 30, with staff moving to East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, and it wants to leave a legacy.

Read more:

For Frank Sims, ACE’s chief executive officer, it’s been a year like no other.

“I am acutely aware of how difficult this last year has been for my staff,” he said. “Fighting for PPE and trying to get an understanding of Covid seems like a lifetime ago.

“Throughout the pandemic, the staff both here and at Harwich rolled up their sleeves, dealt with redeployment, worked 12 hour days, volunteered for additional shifts and worked with increasingly concerned and frightened patients and families.

Gazette:

“Many of the staff, both in the hospitals and in the community, sat with dying patients to ensure they didn’t die alone.”

He added: “The memorial gardens will be a place for staff, patients and families to reflect on this tumultuous year. Through incredible hard work and determination, the garden area at Clacton Hospital has been transformed.

“I am, and have always been, incredibly proud of the people who work for Anglian Community Enterprise. This garden will be their legacy and will offer a place of beauty and quiet contemplation for all.”

The aim is to open Clacton memorial garden to staff on June 25 before a public opening on June 27.

To help boost the efforts, donations have been made from generous people across the region and from Anglian Community Trust, ACE’s charitable arm.

Debbie Dyer, an advanced clinical practitioner within community hospitals, started a fundraiser to help push the project, while also getting stuck in preparing the garden.

Gazette:

She said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has taken its toll on everyone.

“It’s been difficult for the staff dealing with the personal side plus working through what has been professionally the hardest time of our careers.

“The memorial garden idea came from trying to think how we can move on, how we can acknowledge what has happened and mark it for the future. For the staff to begin their healing process and hopefully help loved ones with their grief.

“The gardens will be a restful, peaceful place for staff to take their break and patients to have visitors see them outside the clinical environment but within the safety of the grounds.

“The memorial and the garden will be a fitting tribute to the courage, strength, and resilience of the staff and in remembrance for those who lost their lives, both staff and patients, during the pandemic.”

ACE is now welcoming all kinds of donations for the garden. Trees, bushes, pieces of furniture and plants would all be gratefully received.

You can help the project by visiting the fundraiser via bit.ly/3isCr2R.