Southmead Hospital

Southmead Hospital
North Bristol NHS Trust

Southmead Hospital Training Centre
Shown in Bristol
Geography
Location Southmead, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates 51°29′49″N 2°35′38″W / 51.497°N 2.594°WCoordinates: 51°29′49″N 2°35′38″W / 51.497°N 2.594°W
Organisation
Care system Public NHS
Hospital type District General
Affiliated university University of Bristol, Faculty of Health and Social Care University of West of England
Services
Emergency department Yes Accident & Emergency
History
Founded 1902
Links
Website www.nbt.nhs.uk
Lists Hospitals in England

Southmead Hospital is a large hospital, situated in the northern suburbs of Bristol, England, part of the North Bristol NHS Trust. The new hospital building called Brunel Building opened in May 2014, transferring most services including Accident and Emergency from Frenchay Hospital.[1] Southmead is served by local charity Freewheelers EVS, whose volunteers provide a free-of-charge motorcycle courier service between Southmead and other hospitals in the area. Notable former medical staff include Geoffrey Tovey, serologist and founder of the UK Transplant Service, which was initially based at the hospital.

History

Dr Gibson-Hill examines a patient at Southmead Hospital in 1942

The hospital opened in 1902 as a 64 bed workhouse for poor sick people. By 1911 there were 520 beds.

During World War I, the facilities were used as an army hospital.[2] The facilities reverted to a workhouse in the early 1920s and were then greatly extended to accommodate all the sick.

In 1924, the Southmead Infirmary was built and was later renamed Southmead Hospital.[3] The hospital has been greatly expanded and now covers 60 acres (240,000 m2).

Brunel building

In 2005, a major expansion was planned which included moving most services from Frenchay Hospital to the Southmead site. This resulted in Frenchay Hospital being downgraded to a Community Hospital. The project was finished in late 2013 and opened in April 2014.

Full approval for the project was given by the NHS South West board in January 2009.[4] In 2010, it was announced that Carillion was to design and build the hospital.[5] The new building, built at the cost of £430 million, brings all the departments and services under one roof.

A New Southmead building
The Brunel building under construction

The new hospital building called the Brunel building, named after Bristol engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, include 800 beds, 24 theatres, patient gardens, a public square, a helipad and visitors multi-storey car park.[6] It has a fully glazed concourse roof which allows natural light to flood into the building. Bedrooms are 75% single with ensuite bathrooms, helping to control the spread of infections and improve privacy and dignity to patients. The building is oriented so that the hospital's naturally ventilated wards can take the warming sun in the mornings but are shaded in the hot afternoon sun.

The new accident and emergency department was opened on 19 May 2014 transferring existing operations from Frenchay Hospital.[7]

Parking issues

Since the opening of Southmead Hospital's Brunel building, there has been a shortage of parking spaces due to high demands at the hospital for visitors, patients and staff.[8] Currently patients and visitors are having to park on residential streets, which has led to complaints from residents in the local area, or at the nearby Beaufort Way multi-storey car park, but however this car park is usually full. As well as this, staff are having to give up their parking spaces for patients and visitors.[9] In addition, the completion of a multi-storey car park, which will bring the total number of parking spaces at the hospital to 2,700, has been delayed as of December 2014 until spring 2016.[10]

Transport links

The following buses stop within the grounds of the Hospital 17, 18, 24, 82, 501, 502, 505, 506. The following buses pass the Hospital entrances 2, 76.

See also

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Southmead Hospital.