John Jones raised hundreds of thousands for East Cheshire NHS Charity

Volunteer John Jones has been bringing joy to visitors and patients at Macclesfield District General Hospital through his accordion playing for 35 years.

Retired Engineer Taught Himself to Play Accordion

Watching his father play the instrument when he was young inspired the 84-year-old retired engineer to develop a passion for the accordion. “My dad played the accordion all the time and I could play the piano a little bit,” he said. “When he died, I started messing around with his accordion. One half is like a piano, but the other half is completely different with buttons. I had to teach myself, but I really enjoyed it.”

Fundraising for the Hospital and Personal Connection

In 1991, John started his volunteering journey after spotting a call for donations toward a CT scanner during a trip to the hospital with his mother-in-law. He has since been using his musical talents to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for East Cheshire NHS Charity. “One of the nicest moments was about five years after helping to raise the money for the scanner, I had to have a CT scan myself,” said John, who has an MBE for services to charity. “The nurse said, ‘That’s ironic, you’re using the scanner you helped pay for.’ That really stayed with me.”

Contributions collected have additionally helped pay for a family room within the hospital’s intensive care unit, the location where his wife June passed away from sepsis in 2020. “She’d been in intensive care five years earlier with sepsis as well, but she managed to survive that one,” said John, who also performs in care homes. “I asked if I could specifically collect for intensive care unit which is very close to my heart really because my youngest daughter is matron in intensive care in Australia. Obviously I know all the staff personally because they’ve been here all that time.”

Trust Perspective on Hospital Volunteers

Zara Jones, chief executive at East Cheshire NHS Trust, shared her perspective on the community contribution. “It’s a privilege having so many people who are willing to give up their time to work here,” she said. “A number of the volunteers I’ve met also have their own stories about care they’ve received here or their family or friends have had care here as well so it means a lot to them personally and we’re really keen to support them.”