Glasgow Royal Infirmary

Last updated

Glasgow Royal Infirmary
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Glasgow. Glasgow Royal Infirmary.jpg
The Royal Infirmary's west-facing Centre Block, opened in 1914.
Glasgow UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Glasgow
Geography
LocationCastle Street, Townhead, Glasgow, Scotland
Coordinates 55°51′52.06″N4°14′3.04″W / 55.8644611°N 4.2341778°W / 55.8644611; -4.2341778
Organisation
Care system NHS Scotland
Type Teaching
Affiliated university University of Glasgow
Services
Emergency department Yes
Beds1077 [1]
Speciality Cardiology, Plastic Surgery
Gynaecology
History
Opened1794
Rebuilt (I) 1909-1924
Rebuilt (II) 1974-82
Links
Website www.nhsggc.scot/hospitals-services/main-hospitals/glasgow-royal-infirmary/
Lists Hospitals in Scotland

The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around 8 hectares (20 acres), and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. [2] [3] It was originally opened in 1794, with the present main building dating from 1914.

Contents

History

Founding of the infirmary

Etching of a view of the infirmary by James Fittler in Scotia Depicta, published 1804 Scotia Depicta - Glasgow Infirmary -Plate-.jpg
Etching of a view of the infirmary by James Fittler in Scotia Depicta, published 1804
The New Buildings (post-1974) at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, viewed from the Necropolis. The Queen Elizabeth Building, completed in 1981, is in the foreground. The newer Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, opened in 2001, is just behind and to the right. The University Teaching Block is on the left hand side, adjoining the 1981 building. Glasgow-necropolis-royalinfirmary.JPG
The New Buildings (post-1974) at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, viewed from the Necropolis. The Queen Elizabeth Building, completed in 1981, is in the foreground. The newer Princess Royal Maternity Hospital, opened in 2001, is just behind and to the right. The University Teaching Block is on the left hand side, adjoining the 1981 building.

A Royal Charter was obtained in 1791 granting the Crown-owned land to the hospital. The infirmary was built beside Glasgow Cathedral on land that held the ruins of the Bishop's Castle, which dated from at least the 13th century but had been allowed to fall into disrepair. George Jardine, Professor of Logic, was appointed the first manager in January 1793. [4]

Designed by Robert and James Adam, the original Royal Infirmary building was opened in December 1794. [4] The original Adams building had five floors (one underground) holding eight wards (giving the hospital just over a hundred beds) and a circular operating room on the fourth floor with a glazed dome ceiling. After a number of additional buildings were added, the first in 1816, a specialist fever block in 1829 and a surgical block in 1860. [5]

St Mungo's College Medical School

St Mungo's College Medical School was set up in 1876 by the medical teachers of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, after the university had migrated westwards and set up the new Western Infirmary for clinical teaching. At first their students could not take the university examinations. St Mungo's College also had a non-university law school, which prepared accountants and law agents but not advocates. [6] In 1947 it was absorbed into the University of Glasgow's Faculty of Medicine. [7]

Glasgow Royal Infirmary School of Nursing

Rebecca Strong OBE (1843-1944) is regarded as one of the earliest pioneers of nurse education. In 1879 she was appointed Matron at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. There was no organised teaching for nurses anywhere until 1893, when Strong opened a Preliminary Training School for Nurses at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. With the support of Glasgow surgeon Sir William Macewen, Strong initiated the ‘block apprenticeship’ training programme. This consisted of short periods of instruction in the hospital school followed by periods of practice on the wards. This was a great improvement on previous nurse instruction whereby nurses were expected to attend lectures and study while still working long hours on the wards. [8]

Two courses were arranged in conjunction with the Professors of St. Mungo's College - a three months' course focused on elementary Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene. On passing examinations in these subjects a second course was given which consisted of Medicine, Surgery and Practical Nursing. The prospective nurse was then able to enter the Hospital with this theoretical knowledge. [9] Strong retired in 1907. Over the course of her career at the GRI she fought to improve the conditions for nurses and elevated nursing to the status of a profession. [10]

In 1956 an experimental nurse training programme was introduced at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. The motivation for this course was to address issues around attracting students to nursing, reducing student attrition rates, improving patient care and increasing the number of trained staff. [11] [12]

New building

The original Adams building was replaced with a new building designed by James Miller and opened by King George V in July 1914. [13] In 1926, the surgical block in which Joseph Lister had worked was also torn down for replacement. [14]

Post-war redevelopment

Following the amalgamation of the old St. Mungo's College of Medicine into the University of Glasgow Medical School in 1947, the old College buildings on Castle Street officially became part of the hospital campus. In 1948 the hospital became part of NHS Scotland. [15]

Visions of a brand new hospital on the site had been part of the Bruce Report as early as the late 1940s, but by 1974, the Greater Glasgow Health Board had formally begun plans for the replacement of the 1914 Miller buildings with a brand new building. This would be located on the north of the hospital site overlooking Alexandra Parade and the M8 motorway. The new building was designed by Sir Basil Spence in a "modular" fashion, where new blocks could be easily added in phases as funding allowed. In the end, only the first phase of Spence's original design was implemented and was finally completed around 1982. It also incorporated new accommodation for the hospital's teaching departments, thus replacing the old St. Mungo's College buildings. The new complex was linked to the Surgical Block of the original Royal Infirmary building at basement level via a link corridor, with a further pedestrian entrance at lower basement level on Wishart Street (adjacent to the Necropolis). The new facility was officially named the "Queen Elizabeth Building" by the Queen on a visit in July 1986. [16] Since 1982 the pre-1915 buildings of the Infirmary have been protected as a category B listed building. [17]

The south face of the Medical Block of the Glasgow Royal as seen from High Street GRI Medical Wing.jpg
The south face of the Medical Block of the Glasgow Royal as seen from High Street

After the closure of the Rutherglen Maternity Hospital and the old Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital at Rottenrow, a new maternity block was added to the New Building; the Princess Royal Maternity Hospital opened in 2001. [18] Following the closure of Canniesburn Hospital, the Jubilee Building was opened, adding purpose-built Accident & Emergency facilities and a plastic surgery unit, in November 2002. [19]

Following the transfer of the Golden Jubilee Hospital (formerly the HCI Hospital) in Clydebank to public ownership, much of the cardiology specialism was moved from GRI to the newer facility. [20]

Notable staff and research

The rear of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary's 1914 Centre Block in the background with the Estates building in the foreground, viewed from the Glasgow Necropolis Wfm glasgow royal infirmary.jpg
The rear of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary's 1914 Centre Block in the background with the Estates building in the foreground, viewed from the Glasgow Necropolis

In 1856, Joseph Lister became an assistant surgeon at the Infirmary and a professor of surgery in 1860. Running the new surgery block, Lister noted that about half of his patients died from sepsis. Lister experimented to find ways to prevent sepsis. This experimentation lead to using carbolic acid to clean instruments; he is now considered the "father of modern surgery". [21]

In 1875, a student of Lister, William Macewen joined the Infirmary surgery as an assistant surgeon, becoming a full surgeon in 1877. While at the Infirmary he introduced the practice of doctors wearing sterilisable white coats and pioneered operations on the brain for tumours, abscesses and trauma. [22]

In 1896, John Macintyre, Medical Electrician at the Infirmary, opened one of the first radiological departments in the world. [23]

In 1908, one of MacEwen's students James Pringle, developed the Pringle manoeuvre which is used to control bleeding during liver surgery. [24]

In the 1950s Professor Ian Donald, working in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, was one of the pioneers of diagnostic ultrasound. [25]

Barbara Quaile, OBE, was the Matron from 1946 to 1955. [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Macewen</span> Scottish neurosurgeon (1848 - 1924)

Sir William Macewen, was a Scottish surgeon. He was a pioneer in modern brain surgery, considered the father of neurosurgery and contributed to the development of bone graft surgery, the surgical treatment of hernia and of pneumonectomy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester</span> Hospital in England

Saint Mary's Hospital is a hospital in Manchester, England. It is part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. Founded in 1790, St Mary's provides a range of inter-related services specifically for women and children. In 1986, St Mary's Sexual Assault Referral Centre was the first sexual assault referral centre (SARC) to open in the UK.

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

Whipps Cross University Hospital is a large university hospital in the locality of Whipps Cross in Leytonstone and is within Epping Forest in the London Borough of Waltham Forest, London, England. It is managed by Barts Health NHS Trust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princess Royal Maternity Hospital</span> Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland

The Princess Royal Maternity Hospital is a maternity hospital in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded as the Glasgow Lying-in Hospital and Dispensary in 1834 in Greyfriars Wynd, just off the city's High Street. It moved to St Andrew's Square in 1841, then to Rottenrow in 1860 and to the Glasgow Royal Infirmary site in 2001. It is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matron</span> Senior nurse in a hospital

Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies.

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

The Bristol Royal Infirmary, also known as the BRI, is a large teaching hospital in the centre of Bristol, England. It has links with the nearby University of Bristol and the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of the West of England, also in Bristol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Infirmary</span> Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland

The Western Infirmary was a teaching hospital situated in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland, that was managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. It was opened in 1874 and closed in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh</span> Hospital in Scotland

The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE), often known as the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI), was established in 1729 and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire. The hospital moved to a new 900 bed site in 2003 in Little France. It is the site of clinical medicine teaching as well as a teaching hospital for the University of Edinburgh Medical School. In 1960, the first successful kidney transplant performed in the UK was at this hospital. In 1964, the world's first coronary care unit was established at the hospital. It is the only site for liver, pancreas and pancreatic islet cell transplantation and one of two sites for kidney transplantation in Scotland. In 2012, the Emergency Department had 113,000 patient attendances, the highest number in Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Glasgow Medical School</span> Medical school of the University of Glasgow, Scotland

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stobhill Hospital</span> Hospital in Scotland

Stobhill Hospital is located in Springburn in the north of Glasgow, Scotland. It serves the population of North Glasgow and part of East Dunbartonshire. It is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gartnavel General Hospital</span> Hospital in Scotland

Gartnavel General Hospital is a teaching hospital in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland. The hospital is located next to the Great Western Road, between Hyndland, Anniesland and Kelvindale. Hyndland railway station is adjacent to the hospital. The name Gartnavel is derived from the Gaelic GartUbhal (apple) – i.e. "a field of apple trees". It is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley</span> Hospital in Renfrewshire, Scotland

The Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) is the main hospital in Paisley serving a large catchment area stretching all the way to Oban and Argyll. The hospital is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inverclyde Royal Hospital</span> Hospital in Scotland

Inverclyde Royal Hospital is a district general hospital in Greenock which serves a population area of 125,000 consisting of Inverclyde, Largs, Isle of Bute and Cowal Peninsula. Inverclyde Royal Hospital is one of three main hospitals in the South Clyde area, alongside Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria and Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley and is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dundee Royal Infirmary</span> Hospital in Scotland

Dundee Royal Infirmary, often shortened to DRI, was a major teaching hospital in Dundee, Scotland. Until the opening of Ninewells Hospital in 1974, Dundee Royal Infirmary was Dundee's main hospital. It was closed in 1998, after 200 years of operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Elizabeth University Hospital</span> Hospital in Glasgow, Scotland

The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) is a 1,677-bed acute hospital located in Govan, in the south-west of Glasgow, Scotland. The hospital is built on the site of the former Southern General Hospital and opened at the end of April 2015. The hospital comprises a 1,109-bed adult hospital, a 256-bed children's hospital and two major Emergency Departments; one for adults and one for children. There is also an Immediate Assessment Unit for local GPs and out-of-hours services, to send patients directly, without having to be processed through the Emergency Department.

The Princess Margaret Rose Orthopaedic Hospital was a hospital in Fairmilehead, Edinburgh, opened in 1932 and closed in 2000. After closure, with services transferred to the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, it was demolished and the site sold for housing.

Ida Barbara Helen Quaile OBE was a Scottish nurse, midwife, Matron of Glasgow Victoria Infirmary and Lady Superintendent of Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Kennedy Dalziel</span> Scottish surgeon and pathologist

Thomas Kennedy Dalziel, known as T Kennedy Dalziel, was a Scottish surgeon and pathologist who specialised particularly in abdominal surgery. Dalziel was most notable for being considered the best technical surgeon at the time in western Scotland. He was also particularly notable for the discovery of a disease called chronic interstitial enteritis in 1913, that later became known as Crohn's disease.

Margaret Gibson Auld FRCN was a Scottish nurse, Matron at Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion, Edinburgh and Chief Nursing Officer for Scotland from 1977 to 1988.

References

  1. ↑ "NHSGGC Job Description". NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2010.[ dead link ]
  2. ↑ "Records of Glasgow Royal Infirmary". NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Board Archive. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
  3. ↑ "Glasgow Royal Infirmary". Dr Foster. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
  4. 1 2 "On This Day: 2nd of January". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Aird, Andrew (1894). "Glimpses of Old Glasgow". Aird & Coghill.
  6. ↑ Maclean, Angus (1901). Archaeology, Education, Medical, & Charitable Institutions of Glasgow. Glasgow: British Association.
  7. ↑ "Records of St Mungo's College of Medicine, 1888-1947, medical college, Glasgow, Scotland". Jisc archiveshub. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  8. ↑ "University of Glasgow - University events - Glasgow Science Festival - Schools & Community Engagement - Monumental - Rebecca Strong". www.gla.ac.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  9. ↑ School of Nursing. "School of Nursing" (PDF).
  10. ↑ "The 'troublesome' Glasgow matron who turned nursing from something 'prostitutes did for gin money' into a global profession". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  11. ↑ RCN and National Council of Nurses of the UK (1964). A reform of nurse education. First Report of a special committee on nurse education. RCN and National Council of Nurses of the UK. p. 47.
  12. ↑ Scottish Home and Health Department and Nuffield Provincial Hospital Trust (1963). Experimental Nurse Training at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. HMSO.
  13. ↑ "On This Day: 7th of July". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  14. ↑ "Demolition of Lister Ward, 1926". The Glasgow Story. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  15. ↑ "Scotland in 1948". NHS Scotland. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  16. ↑ "Queen Elizabeth Building". Women of Scotland. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  17. ↑ Historic Environment Scotland. "82-92 (Even Nos) Castle Street, Royal Infirmary, including Clock Tower Building and Archway, Gates and Railings (Category B Listed Building) (LB32650)" . Retrieved 20 March 2019.
  18. ↑ "New maternity ward opens at Glasgow Royal Infirmary". NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  19. ↑ "Jubilee Building". NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  20. ↑ "Golden Jubilee National Hospital: Adult Cardiac Surgery, Congenital Cardiac Surgery, Thoracic Surgery". Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery in Great Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  21. ↑ Pitt, Dennis; Aubin, Jean-Michel (1 October 2012). "Joseph Lister: father of modern surgery". Canadian Journal of Surgery. 55 (5): E8–E9. doi:10.1503/cjs.007112. ISSN   0008-428X. PMC   3468637 . PMID   22992425.
  22. ↑ "Sir William Macewen". The Glasgow Story. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  23. ↑ "John Macintyre". University of Glasgow. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  24. ↑ Miln DC (1963). "James Hogarth Pringle – surgeon extraordinary" (PDF). Proceedings of the Scottish Society for the History of Medicine: 30–37.
  25. ↑ "Donald, Ian". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/40066.(Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  26. ↑ Ewan, Elizabeth; Innes, Sue; Reynolds, Siân; Pipes, Rose, eds. (2006). Quaile, Barbara in The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 294. ISBN   9780748632930.

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.