Bedford Hospital
Encyclopedia
Bedford Hospital is a District General Hospital located in the English
town of Bedford
, serving north and mid Bedfordshire
. It is run by Bedford Hospital NHS Trust.
Bedford Hospital is mainly situated on Britannia Road/Ampthill Road in the Cauldwell area of Bedford. This site (which used to be known as South Wing) is home to the Accident and Emergency department
, theatres
, pathology
, inpatient wards, x-ray department
, oncology
services and the outpatients services. The main site houses BEDOC, Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust's GP
out-of-hours emergency service.
Recent developments on the main site include:
Wards at the hospital include:
building. Services here include occupational therapy
, physiotherapy and rehabilitation facilities, as well as a chest clinic and a drop-in dental service. Many parts of the Bedford Health Village are still under construction, with further services expected to relocate there in the coming years.
Weller Wing, the main psychiatric
hospital serving the area, is also based on the main site, although it is run by a separate organisation, South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation
Foundation Trust.
Wards:
In 2001, it was reported in a local newspaper, Bedfordshire on Sunday
, (and later, in the national press) that bodies were being stored on the floor of the chapel of rest, as part of the hospital's mortuary was undergoing maintenance. Photographs of the bodies were printed in newspapers and shown on TV, to the outrage of some relatives of the deceased. An inquiry found, that although the bodies were tampered with before the photographs were taken, the hospital's management was at fault, and the Chief Executive subsequently resigned.
For several months, refrigerated trucks were used as temporary mortuaries to avoid further inappropriate storage of dead bodies. The situation is now resolved, as the new pathology building houses a larger mortuary.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
town of Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
, serving north and mid Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
. It is run by Bedford Hospital NHS Trust.
Main site (South Wing)
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
, theatres
Operating theatre
An operating theater was a non-sterile, tiered theater or amphitheater in which students and other spectators could watch surgeons perform surgery...
, pathology
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
, inpatient wards, x-ray department
Radiology
Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...
, oncology
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
services and the outpatients services. The main site houses BEDOC, Bedfordshire Primary Care Trust's GP
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
out-of-hours emergency service.
Recent developments on the main site include:
- Cygnet Wing (1996), a paediatric, maternity and gynaecology building
- A new critical careIntensive care medicineIntensive-care medicine or critical-care medicine is a branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and management of life threatening conditions requiring sophisticated organ support and invasive monitoring.- Overview :...
complex (2002) - The Macmillian Primrose Centre (2003), an oncology centre funded entirely by charitable donations from local people
- Beeden House (2005), which hosts a cardiologyCardiologyCardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
suite - A new £7m pathologyPathologyPathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
building (2006)
Wards at the hospital include:
- Elizabeth - medical, 30 beds, gastroenterologyGastroenterologyGastroenterology is the branch of medicine whereby the digestive system and its disorders are studied. The name is a combination of three Ancient Greek words gaster , enteron , and logos...
and elderly patients - Godber - medical, 18 beds, female endocrinologyEndocrinologyEndocrinology is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions called hormones, the integration of developmental events such as proliferation, growth, and differentiation and the coordination of...
and cardiologyCardiologyCardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...
patients - Harpur - medical, 26 beds, acute medicine, elderly patients and palliative carePalliative carePalliative care is a specialized area of healthcare that focuses on relieving and preventing the suffering of patients...
- Howard - surgical, 28 beds, orthopaedic patients
- Meadowbank - neonatal, 14 cots, special care baby unit (part of the Cygnet Wing)
- Pilgrim - medical, 30 beds, endocrine or diabetic patients
- Reginald Hart - rehabilitative, 30 beds, acute trauma patients
- Richard Wells - medical, 27 beds, respiratory and elderly patients
- Riverbank - paediatric, 16 beds/cots, patients aged 0–16
- Shand - surgical, 28 beds, vascular patients
- Shuttleworth - surgical, 32 beds, colorectal and gastrointestinal patients
- Tavistock - surgical, 25 beds, day surgery patients
- Victoria - rehabilitative, 16 beds, strokeStrokeA stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
patients - Whitbread - medical, 28 beds, acute medical patients (part the Acute Assessment unit)
Bedford Health Village (North Wing)
Some services are based at the Bedford Health Village, two miles north of the main site. This site (which used to be known as North Wing) includes the old Bedford workhouseWorkhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
building. Services here include occupational therapy
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy is a discipline that aims to promote health by enabling people to perform meaningful and purposeful activities. Occupational therapists work with individuals who suffer from a mentally, physically, developmentally, and/or emotionally disabling condition by utilizing treatments...
, physiotherapy and rehabilitation facilities, as well as a chest clinic and a drop-in dental service. Many parts of the Bedford Health Village are still under construction, with further services expected to relocate there in the coming years.
Psychiatric services
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
hospital serving the area, is also based on the main site, although it is run by a separate organisation, South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation
Foundation Trust.
Wards:
- Keats - 24 beds, acute adult psychiatry
- Brontë - 18 beds, acute adult psychiatry
- Chaucer - 15 beds, old-age psychiatry
- Milton - 15 beds, old-age psychiatry - dementia and other organic illnesses
- Sheridan Day Hospital - 15 places per day, for over 65s
Mortuary scandal
Bedfordshire on Sunday
Bedfordshire on Sunday is a free local newspaper published in Bedfordshire, England.The newspaper is distributed as two editions, one covering Bedford borough and its surrounding villages, the other edition serves Central Bedfordshire...
, (and later, in the national press) that bodies were being stored on the floor of the chapel of rest, as part of the hospital's mortuary was undergoing maintenance. Photographs of the bodies were printed in newspapers and shown on TV, to the outrage of some relatives of the deceased. An inquiry found, that although the bodies were tampered with before the photographs were taken, the hospital's management was at fault, and the Chief Executive subsequently resigned.
For several months, refrigerated trucks were used as temporary mortuaries to avoid further inappropriate storage of dead bodies. The situation is now resolved, as the new pathology building houses a larger mortuary.