Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
Encyclopedia
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is an NHS
hospital
in the Edgbaston
area of Birmingham
, situated very close to the University of Birmingham
. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construct, opened in June 2010 replacing the previous Queen Elizabeth Hospital
and Selly Oak Hospital
. The Trust employs more than 6,900 staff and provides adult services to more than half a million patients every year.
It is named after Queen Elizabeth
, who became Queen Consort of the United Kingdom in 1936 as the wife of King George VI
. From 1952 until her death in 2002 she was known as the Queen Mother.
The hospital provides a whole range of services including secondary services for its local population and regional and national services for the people of the West Midlands and beyond. The hospital has the largest solid organ transplantation programme in Europe. It has the largest renal transplant programme in the United Kingdom and it is a national specialist centre for liver, heart and lung transplantation, as well as cancer studies. The hospital has the largest single-floor critical care unit in the world, with 100 beds and is the home of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine for military personnel injured in conflict zones. It is also a regional centre for trauma and burns. The hospital is served by University station
which is a five minute walk away.
The new hospital has been built adjacent to the old Queen Elizabeth Hospital site. It was built to replace the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Selly Oak Hospital, although it has incorporated some of the newer parts of the current Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
It has been named the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, rather than the originally planned name of Birmingham Queen Elizabeth Hospital, as the Ministry Of Justice
ruled that no word can precede a Royal Title.
Services from Selly Oak hospital moved in during the week beginning 16 June 2010, and services from the old Queen Elizabeth Hospital will finish moving in November 2011. For the Trust this allows simplification of operation due to two hospitals being relocated to one single site, which has the same capacity as the two previous hospitals combined.
The hospital is now the new home of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, which cares for injured service men and women from conflict zones, as well as training Army
, Navy
and Air Force
medical staff.
and Selly Oak
which includes the construction of a £350 million retail development and the construction of the Selly Oak bypass. Plans for the new hospital were unveiled in 1998 and were approved by Birmingham City Council
in October 2004 after the design was unveiled earlier that year. The hospital is the first acute hospital to be built in Birmingham since 1937.
The new building is part of a Private Finance Initiative
with Consort Healthcare Ltd. There were problems with the scheme when plans for Consort to sign the deal fell through in March 2005. A deal was signed in early 2006.
The hospital was designed by BDP Architects and construction, which was undertaken by Balfour Beatty
, began in June 2006. Five Liebherr
280 EC tower cranes supplied by Balfour Beatty Civil & Construction Plant Services
(BBCCPS) were used during construction. Three of the cranes were among the tallest free-standing structures in the UK. One of the cranes was at its maximum free standing height, 90.2 m (295.9 ft) under the hook and could lift 12t at 27.9 m (91.5 ft) or 4.9t at 60 m (196.9 ft). The other two cranes stand at 79.5 m (260.8 ft).
The first part to be completed was the £12 million multi-storey car park. A further £30 million was spent on preparing the site for construction. The finished complex comprises three 63 metre tall towers, each 9 stories tall. These will contain the in-patient wards. A sky-bridge leads from one of the towers to the retained estate containing the departments of oncology
, the pharmacy
and the Wellcome Research Centre
. As well as providing patient care, the hospital includes an education centre and retail outlets. The main atrium has a glass roof.
hospital
in the Edgbaston
area of Birmingham
situated very close to the University of Birmingham
.
The final round of service moves to the new hospital is due to happen on 11 October 2011.
hospitals opened in Birmingham between 1817, when the Orthopaedic Hospital opened, and 1881, when the Skin Hospital served its first patients. One of these, Queens Hospital, established in 1840 by a young local surgeon William Sands Cox
, was predominantly for clinical instruction
for the medical student
s of Birmingham. In 1884 these institutions, including Cox’s medical school, united as part of the University of Birmingham, on its new campus in Edgbaston. In 1922, Alderman W. A. Cadbury opposed the extension of the General Hospital in the city centre, and a new hospital in Edgbaston was proposed. Five years later an Executive Board for the building of this hospital, at an estimated cost of £1,000,000, was formed. Around 5/6ths of the money was to be dedicated to the hospital and one sixth to the University for the construction of the Medical School
and in 1929 plans were drawn up for a 600-bed centre that would encourage clinical teaching of medicine, surgery, therapeutics, midwifery
, diseases of women, ophthalmology
, ENT
, orthopaedics, dermatology
, venereal disease and radiology
. Britain was then in a period of financial crisis and there was controversy over the expense so in April 1930 an appeal to build the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was launched and by the following year donations exceeded £600,000 enabling construction to start in 1933. The building ultimately cost £1,029,057, which was £129,406 less than the money raised by donations.
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in the Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
area of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, situated very close to the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construct, opened in June 2010 replacing the previous Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Old Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham
The original Queen Elizabeth Hospital is an NHS hospital in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham situated very close to the University of Birmingham...
and Selly Oak Hospital
Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham
Selly Oak Hospital, in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham, England, is one of two hospitals which form the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the other being the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Edgbaston.-History:...
. The Trust employs more than 6,900 staff and provides adult services to more than half a million patients every year.
It is named after Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
, who became Queen Consort of the United Kingdom in 1936 as the wife of King George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
. From 1952 until her death in 2002 she was known as the Queen Mother.
The hospital provides a whole range of services including secondary services for its local population and regional and national services for the people of the West Midlands and beyond. The hospital has the largest solid organ transplantation programme in Europe. It has the largest renal transplant programme in the United Kingdom and it is a national specialist centre for liver, heart and lung transplantation, as well as cancer studies. The hospital has the largest single-floor critical care unit in the world, with 100 beds and is the home of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine for military personnel injured in conflict zones. It is also a regional centre for trauma and burns. The hospital is served by University station
University (Birmingham) railway station
University railway station is a railway station serving the University of Birmingham and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in the West Midlands of England. It is situated on the Cross-City Line which runs from Redditch to Lichfield via Birmingham New Street...
which is a five minute walk away.
New hospital
It has been named the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, rather than the originally planned name of Birmingham Queen Elizabeth Hospital, as the Ministry Of Justice
Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Justice is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public...
ruled that no word can precede a Royal Title.
Services from Selly Oak hospital moved in during the week beginning 16 June 2010, and services from the old Queen Elizabeth Hospital will finish moving in November 2011. For the Trust this allows simplification of operation due to two hospitals being relocated to one single site, which has the same capacity as the two previous hospitals combined.
The hospital is now the new home of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, which cares for injured service men and women from conflict zones, as well as training Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
medical staff.
Planning and construction
The new hospital cost a total of £545 million, and is part of a £1 billion urban regeneration plan for BournbrookBournbrook
Bournbrook is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The suburb of Bournbrook is bordered by Selly Oak to the west and south, Selly Park to the east, and Edgbaston to the north. The Worcester and Birmingham Canal and the Birmingham Cross-City Railway Line run along the...
and Selly Oak
Selly Oak
Selly Oak is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The suburb is bordered by Bournbrook and Selly Park to the north-east, Edgbaston and Harborne to the north, Weoley Castle and Weoley Hill to the west, and Bournville to the south...
which includes the construction of a £350 million retail development and the construction of the Selly Oak bypass. Plans for the new hospital were unveiled in 1998 and were approved by Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
in October 2004 after the design was unveiled earlier that year. The hospital is the first acute hospital to be built in Birmingham since 1937.
The new building is part of a Private Finance Initiative
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative is a way of creating "public–private partnerships" by funding public infrastructure projects with private capital...
with Consort Healthcare Ltd. There were problems with the scheme when plans for Consort to sign the deal fell through in March 2005. A deal was signed in early 2006.
The hospital was designed by BDP Architects and construction, which was undertaken by Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty plc is a British construction, engineering, military housing, rail and investment services company. It is one of the largest construction companies in the UK, and the 15th largest in the world...
, began in June 2006. Five Liebherr
Liebherr
* The Liebherr Group, a German manufacturing complex established in 1949 by Hans Liebherr* Liebherr Grazer AK* Liebherr T 282B, an off- highway, ultra class, rigid frame, two- axle, diesel/electricappointed...
280 EC tower cranes supplied by Balfour Beatty Civil & Construction Plant Services
Balfour Beatty
Balfour Beatty plc is a British construction, engineering, military housing, rail and investment services company. It is one of the largest construction companies in the UK, and the 15th largest in the world...
(BBCCPS) were used during construction. Three of the cranes were among the tallest free-standing structures in the UK. One of the cranes was at its maximum free standing height, 90.2 m (295.9 ft) under the hook and could lift 12t at 27.9 m (91.5 ft) or 4.9t at 60 m (196.9 ft). The other two cranes stand at 79.5 m (260.8 ft).
The first part to be completed was the £12 million multi-storey car park. A further £30 million was spent on preparing the site for construction. The finished complex comprises three 63 metre tall towers, each 9 stories tall. These will contain the in-patient wards. A sky-bridge leads from one of the towers to the retained estate containing the departments of oncology
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
, the pharmacy
Pharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
and the Wellcome Research Centre
Wellcome Trust
The Wellcome Trust was established in 1936 as an independent charity funding research to improve human and animal health. With an endowment of around £13.9 billion, it is the United Kingdom's largest non-governmental source of funds for biomedical research...
. As well as providing patient care, the hospital includes an education centre and retail outlets. The main atrium has a glass roof.
Facilities
- 1,213 patient beds
- 30 operating theatres (23 inpatient, 7 day case)
- 100 critical care beds - largest single-floor unit in the world
- 44% of beds in single rooms
- No room has more than four beds
- Home to 30-bed military ward for military personnel injured whilst on deployment
- 3,800 car parking spaces
- New home of the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM)
Old Q.E. Hospital, Birmingham
The original Queen Elizabeth Hospital is an NHSNational Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in the Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
area of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
situated very close to the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
.
The final round of service moves to the new hospital is due to happen on 11 October 2011.
Origins of the hospital and the medical school
A variety of charitableCharitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
hospitals opened in Birmingham between 1817, when the Orthopaedic Hospital opened, and 1881, when the Skin Hospital served its first patients. One of these, Queens Hospital, established in 1840 by a young local surgeon William Sands Cox
William Sands Cox
William Sands Cox was a surgeon in Birmingham, England. He founded Birmingham's first medical school in 1828 as a residential Anglican-based college in Temple Row, where a blue plaque commemorates him on the House of Fraser department store, and in Brittle Street...
, was predominantly for clinical instruction
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
for the medical student
Medical Student
Medical Student may refer to:*Someone studying at medical school*Medical Student Newspaper, a UK publication...
s of Birmingham. In 1884 these institutions, including Cox’s medical school, united as part of the University of Birmingham, on its new campus in Edgbaston. In 1922, Alderman W. A. Cadbury opposed the extension of the General Hospital in the city centre, and a new hospital in Edgbaston was proposed. Five years later an Executive Board for the building of this hospital, at an estimated cost of £1,000,000, was formed. Around 5/6ths of the money was to be dedicated to the hospital and one sixth to the University for the construction of the Medical School
Medical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
and in 1929 plans were drawn up for a 600-bed centre that would encourage clinical teaching of medicine, surgery, therapeutics, midwifery
Midwifery
Midwifery is a health care profession in which providers offer care to childbearing women during pregnancy, labour and birth, and during the postpartum period. They also help care for the newborn and assist the mother with breastfeeding....
, diseases of women, ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
, ENT
Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders....
, orthopaedics, dermatology
Dermatology
Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin and its diseases, a unique specialty with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist takes care of diseases, in the widest sense, and some cosmetic problems of the skin, scalp, hair, and nails....
, venereal disease and radiology
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...
. Britain was then in a period of financial crisis and there was controversy over the expense so in April 1930 an appeal to build the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was launched and by the following year donations exceeded £600,000 enabling construction to start in 1933. The building ultimately cost £1,029,057, which was £129,406 less than the money raised by donations.