Royal United Hospital

The Royal United Hospital (RUH) is a major acute-care hospital, located in the Weston suburb of Bath, England, which lies approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) west of the city centre. The hospital has 565 beds and occupies a 52 acres (21 ha) site.[1] It is the area's major accident and emergency hospital, with a helicopter landing point on the adjacent Lansdown Cricket Club field. The hospital is operated by the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust.

Royal United Hospital
Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust
Royal United Hospital
Shown in Somerset
Geography
LocationBath, Somerset, England
Coordinates51.3917°N 2.3910°W / 51.3917; -2.3910
Organisation
Care systemNHS
FundingPublic hospital
TypeMajor Acute
Affiliated universityUniversity of Bath and the University of the West of England
Services
Emergency departmentYes
Beds565
HelipadYes
History
Opened1826
Links
Websitewww.ruh.nhs.uk
ListsHospitals in England

History

Founding

The Royal United Hospital takes its name from the union of the Bath Casualty Hospital founded in 1788 and the Bath City Dispensary and Infirmary founded in 1792. The Casualty Hospital was founded in response to the serious injuries sustained to labourers working on the buildings which were being constructed in the city. The Dispensary and Infirmary developed from the Bath Pauper Scheme, a charity founded in 1747 to provide medical treatment for destitute persons in Bath.[2]

The combined institution opened in a building designed by John Pinch the elder in Beau Street as the Bath United Hospital in 1826.[3] It was awarded the title "Royal" by Queen Victoria in 1864 when a new wing, named the Albert Wing after the recently deceased Prince Consort, opened. This building was later occupied by Bath College.[4]

Combe Park site
Front of former Manor House
The original hospital foyer, showing 1930 building foundation stone

The hospital moved to its present site, Combe Park, on 11 December 1932. The site had previously been used for the large First World War Bath War Hospital, which opened in 1916.[5] In November 1919, it was renamed the Bath Ministry of Pensions Hospital, which it remained until it closed in 1929.[6]

The site was also used by the Forbes Fraser Hospital and the Bath and Wessex Orthopaedic Hospital, both founded in 1924 and which merged into the RUH about 1980.[7][8][9] The former manor house on the site, originally medieval but remodelled in the 18th century, became an administrative building. The building is a Grade II* listed building due to its fine Adam style interior.[10]

In 1959, the hospital absorbed the Ear Nose and Throat Hospital and in 1973, the Bath Eye Infirmary, both located elsewhere in Bath.[4][11]

In July 2011, the Dyson Centre for neonatal care opened for premature babies. Over half of the £6.1 million cost was raised by the hospital's charity, the Forever Friends Appeal.[12]

In 2015 and 2016, some services were transferred from the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases to the RUH, including endoscopy and children's services,[13] following that hospital's takeover by the RUH Trust.[14] Construction started on a dedicated building at the RUH site in November 2017. The last rheumatic diseases services were planned to be transferred to the RUH site by autumn 2019.[15]

2014 redevelopment

In 2008, plans were revealed for a £100M redevelopment of the pre-Second World War RUH North buildings, which would include an increase in single-occupancy rooms in line with Government targets.[16] In 2014, a five-year £110M development plan was confirmed.[17] The development will include a new cancer centre, pharmacy, integrated therapies unit, pathology block, IT centre and 400 extra public car parking spaces.[18][19]

Services

The hospital provides acute treatment and care (including Accident & Emergency) for a catchment population of around 500,000 people in Bath and the surrounding towns and villages in North East Somerset and west Wiltshire. The hospital provides healthcare to the population served by three clinical commissioning groups (CCG): Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire CCG; Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire CCG; and Somerset CCG.[20]

The Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership offers services at Hillview Lodge on the north of the site and at Bath NHS House to the south of the site.[21]

See also

References
  1. "Introducing the RUH". Royal United Hospital. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  2. Rice, Paul F. (2015). Venanzio Rauzzini in Britain: Castrato, Composer, and Cultural Leader. University of Rochester Press. p. 182. ISBN 978-1580465328.
  3. "Royal United Hospital, Bath". National Archives. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  4. "A Potted History of the RUH". Royal United Hospital. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  5. Jessica Shoemack (16 May 2016). "The Bath War Hospital Centenary". Cultural Forum for the Bath Area. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  6. David Beswick Lloyd (2007). The Family Doctors in Newbridge 1900–2000. Ralph Allen Press. p. 150. ASIN B001CRC1UC.
  7. "THE FORBES FRASER HOSPITAL, BATH: Medical opening Ceremony". British Medical Journal. 2 (3317): 150–1. 26 July 1924. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.3317.150. PMC 2304686. PMID 20771681.
  8. "Forbes Fraser Hospital, Bath". Hospital Records Database. The National Archives. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  9. "Bath and Wessex Orthopaedic Hospital, Bath". Hospital Records Database. The National Archives. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  10. Historic England. "Manor House, Weston Lane  (Grade II*) (1395661)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  11. "Bath Eye Infirmary". Hospital Records Database. The National Archives. Retrieved 10 November 2011.
  12. "Bath Royal United Hospital opens new neonatal care unit". BBC News. 23 July 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  13. "RNHRD Acquisition". Royal United Hospital. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  14. Amanda Cameron (28 January 2015). "The Min hospital in Bath finally comes under the wing of the city's Royal United Hospital". Bath Chronicle. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  15. "Our Progress". Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  16. "Hospital chief reveals £100m revamp of Bath hospital". Bristol Evening Post. 25 September 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  17. "£110m transformation to bring Bath's Royal United Hospital into the 21st century". Bath Chronicle. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  18. "Bath Royal United Hospital set out £110M transformation plans". UK Construction Media. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  19. "Royal United Hospital in Bath plans for 400 more car parking spaces". Bath Chronicle. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  20. "About Us". www.ruh.nhs.uk. Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  21. "Hillview Lodge". Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
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