Royal Berkshire Hospital

Last updated

Royal Berkshire Hospital
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Royal Berkshire Hospital 1.jpg
The hospital in 2007
Location map United Kingdom Reading.png
Red pog.svg
Location within Reading
Geography
Location Reading, Berkshire, England
Organisation
Care system National Health Service
Services
Emergency department Yes
Beds813
History
Opened1839
Links
Website www.royalberkshire.nhs.uk/our-locations/royal-berkshire-hospital/ OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) is an NHS hospital in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. It provides acute hospital services to the residents of the western and central portions of Berkshire, and is managed by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Contents

The hospital provides approximately 813 inpatient beds (627 acute, 66 paediatric and 120 maternity), together with 204 day-beds and spaces. In doing so, it employs over 5,000 staff and has an annual budget of £228 million. [1]

History

The original frontage of the Royal Berkshire Hospital Royal Berkshire Hospital 3.jpg
The original frontage of the Royal Berkshire Hospital

The Royal Berkshire Hospital was opened in 1839 on the London Road on land donated by Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, a local resident and former Prime Minister. The hospital was built by local architect and builder Henry Briant, who won the design competition. King William IV took a keen interest in the hospital before it was built; and as a consequence, his arms appear on the central pediment, although he died before the hospital opened. The first patron of the hospital was William's niece and successor, Queen Victoria. [2] [3]

In the 1860s, the original building was extended with east and west wings designed by Joseph Morris. In the 1880s, a new chapel was added to the rear of the main block, together with long side wings. Both chapel and side wings were also designed by Morris. [2] [3]

In 1993, the Royal Berkshire and Battle Hospitals NHS Trust was formed, to manage both the Royal Berkshire Hospital and Battle Hospital, the town's other general hospital. On 24 February 2006, Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh, opened the new buildings of the Royal Berkshire Hospital. This was to celebrate the completion of an eight-year project to move the Battle Hospital services onto the Royal Berkshire Hospital site. In August of the same year, the trust became an NHS Foundation Trust under the name of Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, reflecting both its new status and the closure of Battle Hospital. [3] [4]

In 2008, the hospital was awarded 'Excellent' for its use of resources and 'Good' for the quality of its services in the Healthcare Commission's annual health check of all the hospitals within the National Health Service. The accident and emergency department is consistently one of the most efficient in the country, with more than 99% of patients being seen and treated, admitted or discharged within four hours. [5] [6]

In August 2010, it was reported that the number of jobs in the hospital would be reduced by 600, out of a total of around 4,000, to achieve a saving of £60 million. In October 2013, as part of a screening process by the Care Quality Commission, based on existing data and intended for use in prioritising inspections, the Trust was put into the highest risk category. [7] [8] [9]

On 5 March 2020, a patient at the Royal Berkshire Hospital was the first confirmed fatality in the UK from the COVID-19 pandemic. [10]

In August 2020, Reading’s Royal Berkshire Hospital piloted an Emergency Department for elderly and frail people. [11]

In November 2021, the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading began consulting the local community about major redevelopment of the current hospital or alternatively a completely new development in a different location, to ensure that future planning and developments would cover everyone's needs. [12]

Buildings

The endoscopy (white) and maternity blocks (yellow) Royal Berkshire Hospital 2.jpg
The endoscopy (white) and maternity blocks (yellow)

The hospital occupies a long thin site, running gently uphill from London Road to Addington Road, and flanked by Craven Road and Redlands Road. The buildings that house the hospital are of various ages, from the original building of 1839 to the latest ward block completed in 2015. Despite the various ages and styles of building, almost all of the hospital's departments are accessible from a single indoor pedestrian route that runs the length of the site. The original entrance on London Road still exists, but the main entrance is now situated in Craven Road, roughly at the midpoint of this route. [13]

The original building of 1839, together with the wings added in the 1860s, are now listed grade II* by English Heritage. They are built of Bath Stone with slate roofs, and the main building comprises 2 storeys and a basement. The frontage has 11 bays, with the central 7 bays forming a projecting pedimented hexastyle portico with Ionic columns. [2]

Berkshire Medical Heritage Centre

Amongst the buildings within the hospital complex is the old laundry, built in 1881. This now houses the museum of the Berkshire Medical Heritage Centre, which contains 3,000 artefacts relating to medicine, surgery, nursing, midwifery, pharmacy and dentistry. Some of the exhibits date back to the 17th century. [14]

Notable patients

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University College Hospital</span> Hospital in London, England

University College Hospital (UCH) is a teaching hospital in the Fitzrovia area of the London Borough of Camden, England. The hospital, which was founded as the North London Hospital in 1834, is closely associated with University College London (UCL), whose main campus is situated next door. The hospital is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Countess of Chester Hospital</span> Hospital in England

The Countess of Chester Hospital is the main NHS hospital for the English city of Chester and the surrounding area. It currently has 625 beds, general medical departments and a 24-hour accident and emergency unit. It is managed by the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, one of the first Foundation Trusts in the UK, formed in 2004. Cardiac rehabilitation services at the hospital are provided by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Marsden Hospital</span> Hospital in London, England

The Royal Marsden Hospital (RM) is a specialist cancer treatment hospital in London based in Kensington and Chelsea, next to the Royal Brompton Hospital, in Fulham Road with a second site in Belmont, close to Sutton Hospital, High Down and Downview Prisons. It is managed by the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Elizabeth Hospital, King's Lynn</span> Hospital in Norfolk, England

Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. It is located on the outskirts of King's Lynn, to the eastern edge of the town. The catchment area of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital covers the West Norfolk area, South Lincolnshire and Northern part of Fenland District, Cambridgeshire, an area of approximately 1500 km2 and 250,000 people. It is managed by the Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's Lynn NHS Foundation Trust. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is named after Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, rather than Queen Elizabeth II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bedford Hospital</span> Hospital in England

Bedford Hospital is a 400-bed district general hospital located in the English town of Bedford, serving the Borough of Bedford and parts of Central Bedfordshire, run by the Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Central Ambulance Service</span> Regional ambulance service in England

The South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SCAS) is the ambulance service for the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and most of Hampshire. It is a foundation trust of the National Health Service, and one of ten NHS ambulance trusts in England. As of August 2022, SCAS is currently rated Inadequate by the CQC following multiple failings within the trust. SCAS is the only Ambulance Service in England to have received this rating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hull Royal Infirmary</span> Hospital in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England

Hull Royal Infirmary is a tertiary teaching hospital and is one of the two main hospitals for Kingston upon Hull. It is situated on Anlaby Road, just outside the city centre, and is run by Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital</span> Hospital in England

Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital (BNHH) is a 450-bed National Health Service (NHS) hospital in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England run by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. It employs around 2,800 staff. Each year it has around 47,000 admissions, sees 43,000 patients in the Emergency Department, sees around 175,000 outpatients and delivers over 2,800 babies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ipswich Hospital</span> Hospital in Ipswich, Suffolk, England

Ipswich Hospital is a large district general hospital in Heath Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, England. It is now managed by East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust which was formed on 1 July 2018 by the merging of Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust with Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern General Hospital</span> Hospital in South Yorkshire, England

The Northern General Hospital is a large teaching hospital and Major Trauma Centre in Sheffield, England. Its departments include Accident and Emergency for adults, with children being treated at the Sheffield Children's Hospital on Western Bank. The hospital is managed by the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musgrove Park Hospital</span> Hospital in England

Musgrove Park Hospital is a large NHS hospital located in Taunton, Somerset, England, run by Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. Originally a US Army General Hospital during the Second World War, it became an NHS hospital in 1951.

The Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust responsible for the management of the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Berkshire, as well as the Prince Charles Eye Unit and the Dialysis Unit, both in Windsor; Bracknell Healthspace, Townlands Hospital in Henley-on-Thames, and West Berkshire Community Hospital, which is between Newbury and Thatcham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle Hospital</span> Hospital in Reading, United Kingdom

Battle Hospital was a National Health Service hospital in the town of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. The hospital was located on a large site between Oxford Road and Portman Road, in West Reading.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is an NHS foundation trust based in London, United Kingdom. It comprises University College Hospital, University College Hospital at Westmoreland Street, the UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre, the Royal National ENT and Eastman Dental Hospitals, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine and the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University Hospital Lewisham</span> Hospital in England

University Hospital Lewisham is a teaching hospital run by Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust and serving the London Borough of Lewisham. It is now affiliated with King's College London and forms part of the King's Health Partners academic health science centre. It is situated on Lewisham High Street between Lewisham and Catford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wexham Park Hospital</span> Hospital in Berkshire, England

Wexham Park Hospital is a large NHS hospital in Slough, Berkshire. It has been managed by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust since 2014. Sir Andrew Morris is the Trust's chief executive.

Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health services and other community based health services, primarily to the resident population of the Royal County of Berkshire, England, in the United Kingdom.

Occupation at the site of Reading may date back to the Roman period, possibly as either a trading port on the River Thames, or as an intersection on the Roman road connecting London with Calleva Atrebatum near Silchester.

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS Foundation Trust created on 1 October 2014 by the acquisition of Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust by Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This was the first ever take over of one NHS Foundation Trust by another. It runs Heatherwood Hospital in Ascot, Wexham Park Hospital near Slough, both in Berkshire, and Frimley Park Hospital near Camberley, Surrey.

Healthcare in London, which consumes about a fifth of the NHS budget in England, is in many respects distinct from that in the rest of the United Kingdom, or England.

References

  1. ↑ "About the Trust – Royal Berkshire Hospital". Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. Archived from the original on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 Historic England. "Main Block and Flanking Wings at Royal Berkshire Hospital (1156091)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 26 November 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 "History — Royal Berkshire Hospital". Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. Archived from the original on 31 May 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
  4. ↑ "Queen inspects £132m NHS makeover". BBC News. 24 February 2006. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
  5. ↑ "Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust wins praise in national health check". Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. Archived from the original on 26 October 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  6. ↑ "Total Time in A&E data files". Department of Health. Archived from the original on 23 December 2012. Retrieved 26 October 2008.
  7. ↑ "Royal Berkshire Hospital to axe up to 600 jobs". BBC. 5 August 2010. Archived from the original on 5 August 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2010.
  8. ↑ "NHS Trusts put in risk categories - full list". Independent Revealed: scale of hospital staff shortages in top Tory areas. 24 October 2013. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  9. ↑ "NHS Trusts put in risk categories - full list". Independent. 24 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  10. ↑ "Coronavirus: Woman in 70s becomes first virus fatality in UK". BBC. 5 March 2020. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  11. ↑ "NEW emergency department for elderly being trialled at Royal Berks". Reading Chronicle. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  12. ↑ "What does the future hold for the Royal Berkshire Hospital?". ITV News. 10 November 2021. Archived from the original on 5 January 2022. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  13. ↑ "How to find us". Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. Archived from the original on 11 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  14. ↑ "The Royal Berkshire Medical Museum". Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  15. ↑ Brookes, Andrew. Crash! Military Aircraft Disasters, Accidents and Incidents. London: Ian Allan Ltd., 1991, p. 36. ISBN   0-7110-1965-7.
  16. ↑ "Catherine Duchess of Cambridge". English Monarchs. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012.
  17. ↑ "Will the royal baby be born in the Royal Berks?". Get Reading. 1 May 2013. Archived from the original on 19 April 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
  18. ↑ Nicholl, Katie (12 August 2012). "The Other Middleton". GQ . UK. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  19. ↑ "George Cole: Star of Minder dies at 90". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.