New Year’s Honours: former Man of Rochdale and Middleton NHS director appointed to Order of British Empire for outstanding services

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Alan Wrigley, Man of Rochdale 2016, has received a British Empire Medal

A former Man of Rochdale and an NHS non-executive director from Middleton have been named in this year’s New Year’s honours list.

The honours list, published twice a year, consists of knights and dames, appointments to the Order of the British Empire and gallantry awards to servicemen and women, and civilians.

The ranks of appointment to the Order are Commander (CBE), Officer (OBE) and Member (MBE).

British Empire Medals are also awarded to community volunteers.

Winifred Dignan, known as Wyn, 66, of Alkrington, has received an MBE for her services to Healthcare in North West England, whilst Alan Wrigley, 86, the Man of Rochdale 2016, has received a British Empire Medal for his services to charity.

Wyn, chair of the North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust, has been a Non-Executive Director in the NHS covering more than 20 years. She has chaired NHS Boards at North Manchester Primary Care Trust, Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust (MMHSCT) and North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust (NWAS). Prior to this she was Non-Executive at the North Manchester General Hospital.

Her commitment to the NHS in her local communities and to the values that underpin the service is exemplary and that has been consistently demonstrated throughout her long and dedicated service.

Her passion and commitment for the NHS has set the tone from the top and is evidenced by her striving to deliver the very best quality of service to patients and their families.

Wyn has worked passionately and selflessly to motivate staff to make a difference and to improve the quality of services and performance in all the settings she has worked.

This has involved going the extra mile and investing more hours than is expected of the role.

Alan Wrigley, of Oldham, has raised in excess of £70,000 for local charities, including Springhill Hospice, the GEM Appeal and Bleakholt. In 2016, he was named the Man of Rochdale for his charity efforts.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/106488/alan-wrigley-man-of-rochdale-2016

Through his continued work at B&Q, the Suez Crisis veteran spends £1,000 per year of his own money on providing sweets for the children of customers to the store whilst asking the parents to make a donation to local charities.

Alan has raised over £50,000 for Springhill Hospice in Rochdale, a charity he has fundraised for since losing his wife. The hospice requires £8,200 per day in order to be operational and provide specialist palliative care across the community. His regular donations help them to provide the highest standard of physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual care for patients with life limiting illnesses and their families, friends and carers.

Alan has also carried out parachute and bungee jumps, resulting in thousands of pounds being added to his weekly contributions.

His latest achievement has been to raise the funds to transform an old car park attached to the hospice tea rooms into a beautiful decked and paved area where all profits made go back to the hospice.