| NHS Orkney | |
|---|---|
| Main entrance to the Hospital | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Kirkwall,, Orkney, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Public NHS |
| Hospital type | Rural general |
| Affiliated university | University of Aberdeen Robert Gordon University |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes Accident & Emergency |
| Beds | <100 |
| History | |
| Founded | 1845 |
| Links | |
| Website | http://www.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/Services/hospital/balfour_hospital.htm |
| Lists | Hospitals in the United Kingdom |
Balfour Hospital is a rural general hospital in Kirkwall, run by NHS Orkney. It is the main hospital in the Orkney Islands.
Balfour Hospital has fewer than a hundred beds in six wards.[1]
Orkney's first hospital was established in October 1845, in what is today the Kirkwall West End Hotel. In 1836, John Balfour of Trenabie set up a charitable trust for the founding of a hospital with the interest from £20,000 worth of Mexican government bonds. In 1845, the trustees of the hospital fund bought the house from local merchant, James Shearer, together with the two large gardens and blacksmith's shop on the west side of the street, for £450. At first known simply as the Orkney Hospital, it became the Balfour Hospital in 1853, in recognition of the contribution of the Balfour family, a name which continues at Orkney's present hospital in New Scapa Road, Kirkwall. The West End served as a hospital well into the 20th century, its replacement opening in 1927.[2]
A Macmillan House ward for cancer patients opened in Balfour Hospital in March 2000, its predecessor, at the Eastbank Hospital, had opened in 1993.[3]