University Hospital of Wales | |
National Health Service | |
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Geography | |
Location | Heath, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom |
Organisation | |
Care system | Cardiff and Vale University Health Board |
Hospital type | General |
Affiliated university | Cardiff University |
Services | |
Emergency department | Yes Accident & Emergency |
Beds | 1000 |
History | |
Founded | 1971 |
Links | |
Website | http://www.cardiffandvale.wales.nhs.uk/ |
Lists | Hospitals in the United Kingdom |
University Hospital of Wales (referred to locally as "the Heath" or UHW), opened in November 1971, is a major 1000-bed hospital situated in the inner city district of Heath in Cardiff, Wales. UHW is the third largest University Hospital in the UK[1] and the largest hospital in Wales,[2] providing 24-hour Accident & Emergency and various other specialist departments.
The hospital is split into 3 blocks (A, B and C Block). It is also a teaching hospital of Cardiff University School of Medicine.
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In January 2009, it was announced that the BBC was to broadcast a documentary series at the hospital, filmed in August 2008.[3] A new series will be broadcast on 10 January 2011.[4]
In November 2009, the first person-to-person transmission of Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 in the world was confirmed at the hospital. Five patients were infected, with three apparently having been infected in the hospital itself in a case of iatrogenic transmission.[5]
The hospital was previously part of Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust, with Huw Ross being the Chief Executive, Ian Lane the Medical Director and Judith Hardisty the Director of Personnel. In 2010 the Trust was dissolved and the hospital is now run by a health board. All three of these executive officers were unsuccessful in their applications to remain in senior positions within the organisation; under controversial salary protection schemes, they were moved to lesser roles but continued to be paid as previously.
Postmortem examinations had to be stopped at the hospital following an inspection which revealed serious breaches of the Human Tissue Act, including the unauthorised storage of human brains. Surgery was also discontinued temporarily when surgeons complained the instruments they had been given had not been sterilised properly and were visibly dirty.
Throughout 2010, the hospital faced serious financial pressures which led to the closure of wards.
In 2005, a million pound project by base structures was completed, a specially designed walkway which joins one part of the hospital to the other.
The hospital boasts a large concourse, which is situated at the main entrance. It contains a reception and many retail shops for use by visitors, staff and patients. It also contains many specialist services for use by patients and their families.
A new £16 million birthing centre was opened at the hospital in August 2009, featuring three birthing pools.[6]
The Accident and Emergency unit is the third largest in the United Kingdom and treats on average 750 people every weekend.[7]
A £4.27m transplant unit opened in August 2010. The unit had been three years in the planning and sits on the top floor of a new block on the hospital site. A renal outpatients’ department is also housed in the building. It replaces the old unit on ward B5 and it is hoped the new facilities will help to increase the number of kidney transplants carried out in Cardiff. UHW is Wales’ only kidney transplant centre and caters for patients from South, Mid and West Wales.[8]
The University Hospital of Wales is also home to Radio Glamorgan, founded in 1967, which broadcasts via Patientline on Channel 1.