One year on

In April 2024 Charlotte Kneer began her new career as CEO of the Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital.

Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital Ltd is a charity that traces its history back to 1921 when the original community hospital was built after the the first world war.

The hospital and its charity have developed strong bonds with the community and deliver a wide range of community health and well-bring services many of which take place at The Hub on the Hill.

In this interview we discover what Charlotte did before she took up her demanding new role and find out some of the highlights of her first year.

Where did you move from and what you have achieved in your life thus far?
Prior to becoming CEO of the Rye, Winchelsea and District Memorial Hospital charity I worked for many years in Surrey. I ran refuges for adults and children fleeing domestic abuse. I was fortunate to receive an MBE in the late Queen’s Jubilee Honours list and I was also made a deputy lieutenant of Surrey. I often appeared on national television and radio as well as national print media campaigning for better outcomes for survivors of domestic abuse. In 2020 I was a keynote speaker at the OECD in Paris for the inaugural violence against women and girls conference.

Celebrating your first year in post, what have you and your team achieved?
I made the decision to come to Rye as I firmly believed we could make a real difference to health and wellbeing in the local community. As I reflect on my first year I think about what the team have achieved. The Hub on Rye Hill has opened a Cancer Café and a Dementia Café in collaboration with other local organisations. We are shortly to welcome a free service for young people experiencing mental ill health. We are hosting many NHS services that were in danger of disappearing from the community and we have huge ambitions to keep on expanding what we can offer. The hospital and the outpatients’ clinic continue to support those in need, with reviews consistently confirming that a community hospital is absolutely critical. There will be further articles in Rye News highlighting some of the different activities we offer at The Hub on the Hill because I want everyone to know what we do and how to access them.

What are the plans for the future? What exciting things are coming up?
The long-awaited care home on our site has started to make progress, and we are hopeful that our partner Greensleeves will start the building work very soon.

One thing about you that not many people know
In September 2022 when Queen Elizabeth passed away I received an invitation to her funeral. It was an extremely moving event, one which I was honoured to attend and I will hold the memories of that day with me forever.

Image Credits: Kt bruce .