Broomfield Hospital
| Broomfield Hospital | |
|---|---|
| Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust | |
 Entrance to the old A and E department. | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Chelmsford, Essex, England, United Kingdom |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | NHS |
| Hospital type | Teaching |
| Affiliated university | Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes Accident & Emergency |
| Beds | 800 |
| Speciality | Cleft lip and palate, Burns & Plastic Surgery |
| History | |
| Founded | 1940 |
| Links | |
| Website | http://www.meht.nhs.uk/hospitals/broomfield.htm |
| Lists | Hospitals in England |
Broomfield Hospital is the general hospital for Chelmsford, England and the surrounding areas. It is the largest within the Mid Essex Hospitals Services Trust and is an 800-bed acute hospital which offers a wide range of services. The world renowned St. Andrew's Centre - a specialist unit for cleft lip and palate, burns and plastic surgery - is also located at Broomfield Hospital.
History
Broomfield Hospital, originally known as Essex County Hospital was opened in 1940 as a hospital for the treatment of tuberculosis patients. It was due to open in 1937, but this was delayed due to the Second World War. Until 1959 all the patients in the 312 beds were male and length of stay ranged from six months to four years. The hospital was soon working to full capacity and was the only centre for chest surgery for pulmonary tuberculosis in Essex. Towards the end of the World War II ar 50 per cent of patients were ex-servicemen. The Hospital's first physician superintendent and administrator was Dr William Lyall Yell.
The hospital was built with south facing “butterfly” wings that caught the sun for the benefit of the tuberculosis patients. Even during the winter months patients were wheeled out onto the balconies. Fresh air, bed rest and good food were part of their treatment and a lot of the food for the patients was grown on the hospital farm.
As the incidences of tuberculosis declined, the hospital developed and acute general care gradually became the focus for the hospital. Following the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, the hospital became the responsibility of the North East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. 1959 saw the first female patients and the delivery of six babies. in 1960 Broomfield became a General Hospital and training for nursing was established at the hospital. During the 1960s the hospital dealt with more general surgery, orthopaedics and general medicine. Extensions to the hospital included a large outpatients clinic, geriatric wards and most wards now had emergency cover.
In 1970 plans were revealed for the first stage of a £3m development for new district general services.
Over the years the hospital has expanded and by the 1980s it included an accident & emergency department, pharmacy, rehabilitation department, operating theatres, intensive therapy unit and new specialised wards. in 1981 Dame Elizabeth Coker, then chairman of the health authority launched a £13m Hospital development. A former concert hall was converted and became a new Medical Academic Centre in 1988.
In 1983 The Princess Anne opened the CAT scanner following years of fund raising and returned in 1987 to open a new ward block. Work then started on upgrading the east wing of the hospital and the west wing was demolished the following year. The Hospital opened its Intensive Care unit in the 1987 and moved to its current location in the new wing in 1998.It remains the jewel in the crown of medical services within the hospital, with exceptional results. These results have been consistent over many years according to the units ICNARC 6 monthly reports, putting it in the top 10% of units in England and Wales.
A new medical academic library was built in 1991 and the following year Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust was formed and full Trust status was achieved. More development work continued throughout the 1990s and clinical space increased by more than fifty per cent. In 1994 Frank Bruno MBE opened the new screening room and mammographic facilities and in November of the same year The Broomfield Dialysis Centre was officially opened. Then Prime Minister John Major, undertook the topping out ceremony in 1996. The new East Wing was officially opened in 1998 by the then Trust Chairman, Sir Jeffery Bowman, former Nurse Tutor Margaret Craig and former consultant anaesthetist Dr David Walmsley and a new Diabetic Centre was opened the same year. A Medical Assessment Unit opened in 1998.
Major Overhaul 2010
In November 2010 a £148 Million major re-development of Broomfield Hospital was unveiled to the public. This resulted in a number of new facilities and departments being developed - a state of the art Accident and Emergency Facility, a brand new Maternity Unit, and brand new wards and state of the art facilities were incorporated within the new and existing building. Essex Air Ambulance opened a brand new heli pad on top of the building providing more efficient access by air. The Hospital also opened a new day care centre to provide support for the staff and patients.
These developments were attempts to make the hospital more efficient and community focused. The project has created 365 new beds. The Hospital also has a number of retail outlets and restaurants including a Costa Coffee, a NHSPresso, an M&S and a W H Smith.
Famous alumni
- Debbie Sell - 1954 - Pioneering speech and language therapist. Awarded the OBE for services to the National Health Service in 2006.