Hereford County Hospital

Hereford County Hospital
Wye Valley NHS Trust
Hereford County Hospital
Shown in Herefordshire
Geography
Location	Stonebow Road, Hereford, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	52.05691°N 2.70553°W / 52.05691; -2.70553
Organisation
Care system	NHS
Type	General
Services
Emergency department	Yes Accident & Emergency
Beds	236
History
Opened	1937 (rebuilt 2002)
Links
Website	www.wyevalley.nhs.uk
Lists	Hospitals in England

Hereford County Hospital is an acute general hospital on Stonebow Road in Hereford. It is managed by Wye Valley NHS Trust.

History

The foundation stone for Hereford County Hospital was laid in 1937 by Queen Mary. It was built adjacent to the site of the Public Assistance Institute.^[1] By 1946 the County Hospital provided 142 beds of which 25 were maternity beds.^[2]

A new hospital was procured in 1999 under a Private Finance Initiative contract to replace the old Hereford County Hospital, the Hereford General Hospital and the Victoria Eye Hospital.^[1] The new hospital, which was designed by WS Atkins^[3] and built by Alfred McAlpine^[4][5] at a cost of £62 million,^[6] opened in 2002.^[7] At the time concerns were expressed that the new hospital was too small to replace the facilities which were being lost.^[8] Consequently an additional ward, the Gilwern Assessment Unit, opened on the site in December 2015 providing an acute geriatric assessment unit. This was followed by a 24 bed medical assessment unit in November 2018.^[7]

In 2020 construction began on a new three storey block to replace the ageing Nightingale style Canadian Huts built in the aftermath of the Second World War. The new facility will provide 72 new inpatient beds and allow the hutted wards to be demolished. Concurrent works to expand the intensive care bed base from six to eight beds were also commenced. In all the new works will expand the bed base to approximately 272 by 2021.^[9]

Facilities

The hospital has 236 beds.^[10] The site also houses the Stonebow Mental Health hospital which includes a psychiatric ward named after Jenny Lind, a Swedish opera singer.^[11] Facilities management services are provided by Sodexo.^[12]

Kier Group has a contract for a £40m programme of reconfiguration works at the hospital.^[13]

References

1. Renton, Charles (1999). The Story of Herefordshire's Hospitals. Almeley: Logaston Press. p. 220. ISBN 1873827210.
2. English County. A Planning Survey of Herefordshire. West Midland Group on Post War Reconstruction and Planning. 1946. p. 216.
3. "Healthcare Book" (PDF). WS Atkins. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
4. "Hereford PFI deal closed". Building. 23 April 1999. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
5. "Alfred McAlpine sells stake in Mercia Healthcare for 5.6m". Building. 26 January 2005. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
6. "NHS capital expenditure and the private finance initiative—expansion or contraction?" (PDF). British Medical Journal. 3 July 1999. p. 49. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
7. "Hereford County Hospital has a new ward". Herefordshire Live. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
8. "City consultant's plea to Ministry". Hereford Times. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
9. "Outline Business Case for delivery of the Hutted Wards Replacement" (PDF). Wye Valley NHS Trust. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
10. "Hereford care at home plan to free up hospital beds". BBC. 17 October 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
11. "David Craig who left roadie job to become mental health nurse retires". Hereford Times. 10 February 2011. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
12. "Inquiry into Hereford County Hospital contract called for as MP Jesse Norman brands PFI a "catastrophe"". Hereford Times. 10 December 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
13. "Kier wins £250m of health deals including Hampshire hospital design-and-build job". Construction News. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2018.