Print of the old Newcastle upon Tyne Infirmary at Forth Banks in 1786
The original hospital was the Newcastle upon Tyne Infirmary at Forth Banks which was funded by way of public subscription. The foundation stone was laid by Joseph Butler, the Bishop of Durham, on 5 September 1751 and it opened on 8 October 1753.[1] By the end of the 19th century, despite major extensions including the Dobson Wing which opened in 1855[2] and the Ravensworth Wards which opened in 1885,[3] the infirmary became overcrowded and needed to be replaced.[4][5]
A new hospital to be known as the Royal Victoria Infirmary was designed by William Lister Newcomb and Percy Adams and built on 10 acres (4 hectares) of Town Moor given by the Corporation and Freemen of the City of Newcastle upon Tyne. It was opened by King Edward VII on 11 July 1906.[4] The fully furnished and equipped hospital, containing seventeen wards,[6] a nurses' home, chapel and five operating theatres, cost over £300,000.[7] A statue of Queen Victoria in front of the new infirmary, sculpted by Sir George James Frampton in white stone, was the gift of Sir Riley Lord, who was knighted for his efforts in getting the infirmary built.[7] The infirmary became a unit of the First Northern General Hospital and treated wounded service personnel during the First World War.[8]
Overcrowding was a problem, with waiting lists of over 5,000 in the 1930s and, until it joined the National Health Service in 1948, money had to be raised for extensions and new equipment – always difficult especially in the depression years. Later additions to the hospital included the Dental Hospital and School in 1978 and the Medical School in 1985.[10] These additions were followed by Leazes Wing (facing Leazes Park) in 1992, the Sir James Spence Institute (named after Sir James Spence, a leading pediatrician) in 1994 and the Claremont Wing (on Claremont Road) in 1996.[10] Although the Peacock Hall (the main administrative building) survived, many of the Edwardian buildings, including the old Eastern Block, were demolished at this time to make way for the new structures.[10]
The late 20th century also brought consolidation of medical services in the city including the transfer to the infirmary of children's services from the Fleming Memorial Hospital in 1988[11] and of maternity services from the Princess Mary Maternity Hospital in 1993.[12]
The hospital has three main wings: the Leazes Wing, the Claremont Wing and the New Victoria Wing.[15] The Great North Children's Hospital, one of only fourteen major children's medical centres in the UK, adjoins the New Victoria Wing.[16] The infirmary is also the only provider of Mohs micrographic surgery for skin cancer in the North East of England.[17]
Entrance to the New Victoria Wing
The Great North Children's Hospital which adjoins the New Victoria Wing
The Newcastle Dental Hospital which is on the same site
^"175 years of medicine at Newcastle". Newcastle University Alumni Association. 19 February 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2011.((cite web)): CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
.svg)
.jpg)
