Hospital marks 100 years with tree planting

Torbay Hospital has marked 100 years since its foundation stone was laid with a tree-planting event bringing together staff, community figures and partners to reflect on its past and future.

Guests gathered in the Rose Garden to see a magnolia tree planted as a "symbol of renewal and care for future generations", said the Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust.

Chief executive Joe Teape said: "Services have changed, medicine has advanced, and the hospital itself has evolved.

"But what hasn't changed is the commitment of our people, that sense of care and compassion that patients and families experience every day."

The hospital's roots go back to the 19th Century, before land donated in the 1920s helped create the site used currently on the outskirts of Torquay.

Martin Beaman, chair of the Torbay and South Devon NHS Charity, which paid for the planting, said: "A century ago, local people came together with a clear purpose - to create something that would care for our communities for generations to come.

"What has grown and changed over that time is remarkable, but that purpose has remained constant."

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