Bristol Royal Infirmary

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Bristol Royal Infirmary
United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust

Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI) Looking north-east along Marlborough Street with the BRI hospital on the left.
Location
Place	Bristol, England, (UK)
Organisation
Care System	Public NHS
Hospital Type	Teaching
Affiliated University	University of Bristol, Faculty of Health and Social Care University of West of England
Services
Emergency Dept.	Yes Accident & Emergency
Beds	Unknown
Speciality	Cardiothoracic services for the South West region
History
Founded	1735
Links
Website	Trust Homepage
See also	Hospitals in England

The Bristol Royal Infirmary, also known as the BRI, is a large teaching hospital situated in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the medical faculty of the nearby University of Bristol, and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England, also in Bristol.

The BRI is one of 9 hospitals operated by the United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust (UBHT), Bristol's largest NHS trust.

A wealthy city merchant, Paul Fisher, was prominent in the foundation of hospital in 1735.

In 1904, Sir George White, who gave Bristol its first electric tramway service and established what was to become the Bristol Aeroplane Company, saved the hospital from a major financial crisis, and later masterminded the construction of the BRI's Edward VII Memorial Wing, designed by Charles Holden.

Acquired by the National Health Service in 1948, the hospital's facilities were greatly extended in the 1960s. The Queen's Building extension opened in 1972. The Bristol Oncology Centre opened in 1971.

The deaths of a number of babies and young children during heart surgery during the period 1984-1995 led to the Kennedy Report into paediatric cardiac surgical services at the hospital. The report led to greater emphasis on clinical governance within the NHS and the publication of the performance ratings of individual heart surgeons.