Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary

Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary is the main hospital in Dumfries, Scotland. The hospital is managed by NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary
NHS Dumfries and Galloway
The new Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary at the Garroch roundabout which opened in 2018
Shown in Dumfries and Galloway
Geography
LocationDumfries, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, United Kingdom
Coordinates55.0605°N 3.6561°W / 55.0605; -3.6561 (Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary)
Organisation
Care systemNHS Scotland
TypeGeneral
Services
Emergency departmentYes
Beds344[1]
Links
Websitewww.nhsdg.scot.nhs.uk/Hospitals/Dumfries_and_Galloway_Royal_Infirmary

History
The old hospital at Nithbank
The old hospital at Bankend Road

The hospital has its origins in a small facility at Mill Hole in Burns Street in central Dumfries which opened as the Dumfries Infirmary in 1776.[2]

The hospital moved to High Dock in 1778 before becoming the Dumfries and Galloway Infirmary in 1785 and the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary in 1807.[2] Dr William Scott administered sulphuric ether, in the first use of anesthetics in the United Kingdom, at the High Dock facility in 1846.[3] The High Dock facility has since been demolished.[3]

The hospital relocated to a new building at Nithbank which was designed by John Starforth, completed in 1873 and was extended in 1897.[2] The hospital joined the National Health Service in 1948.[2] The old Nithbank facility was subsequently used to accommodate the offices of NHS Dumfries and Galloway.[4]

The hospital moved again this time to a facility at Bankend Road, which was designed by Boswell, Mitchell & Johnston and opened by the Queen in 1975.[5] A cancer care centre was opened by Princess Alexandra in 2003.[5] The old Bankend Road facility continues to be used as the Mountainhall Treatment Centre.[6]

In 2012 it was announced that a new 350-bed hospital would be built on the A75 close to the Garroch roundabout.[7] It was procured under a Private Finance Initiative contract in March 2015.[8] The hospital was designed by Ryder Architecture and NBBJ[9] and built by Laing O'Rourke[8] at a cost of £213 million.[10] The new hospital was officially opened by the Princess Royal in July 2018.[11]

Services

The hospital serves the town of Dumfries and the catchment area of South West Scotland with a population of c.150,000.[12] It is made up entirely of single rooms, 344 of them, each with a computer point to allow real-time updating of patient records.[1]

The hospital is a supporter of The Princess Royal Trust for Carers.[13]

References
  1. "New Dumfries hospital opens its doors". BBC News. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  2. "Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary, Dumfries". National Archives. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  3. "Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary". Historic Hospitals. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  4. "Nithbank Hospital". NHS Dumfries and Galloway. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  5. "Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary". Scottish Places. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  6. "Dumfries maternity unit conversion plans approved". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 19 December 2018.
  7. Rinaldi, Giancarlo (2 December 2013). "Dumfries hospital: who wants to take on the £200m scheme?". BBC News. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  8. "Laing O'Rourke's £270m Dumfries hospital reaches financial close". Construction News. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  9. "New Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary opens". Building Better Healthcare. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  10. "PFI scandal as Scottish NHS faces £10 billion bill for hospitals that cost £2 billion". Daily Record. 16 April 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  11. "Princess Royal opens Dumfries hospital and Kirkcudbright gallery". BBC. 12 July 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  12. "About us". NHS Dumfries and Galloway. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  13. "Princess Royal Trust for Carers Hospital Carers Support Project". NHS Dumfries and Galloway. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.

Further reading
  • Irving, Gordon (1975). Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary: The first two hundred years, 1776-1975. Robert Dinwiddie and Co. ISBN 978-0901043085.
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