Belfast City Hospital facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Belfast City Hospital |
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| Belfast Health and Social Care Trust | |
The tower at Belfast City Hospital
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 Location in Northern Ireland
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| Geography | |
| Location | Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland |
| Coordinates | 54°35′15″N 5°56′27″W / 54.58750°N 5.94083°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland |
| Hospital type | District General |
| Affiliated university | Queen's University Belfast Ulster University |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | No |
| Beds | 900 |
| History | |
| Founded | 1841 |
The Belfast City Hospital is a big hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It has 900 beds and helps teach future doctors. It offers many important medical services to people in the area. Its tall, orange tower is easy to spot in the Belfast skyline. It's one of the tallest buildings in Northern Ireland. The hospital is known for its special care in treating cancer and kidney problems. It's run by the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. It is also the largest general hospital in the United Kingdom. In April 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, the tower block was used as a special "Nightingale Hospital" to help more patients.
Contents
Hospital History
Early Beginnings
The hospital started as a workhouse and a place for sick people on the Lisburn Road. It was designed by Charles Lanyon and opened on January 1, 1841. This infirmary was built to help poor people who couldn't afford healthcare.
Growing Bigger
It became hard to keep sick people separate from those who were just poor. So, the infirmary grew and soon had over 600 beds. On January 31, 1869, a record 4,252 patients were being cared for.
Dr. Thomas Andrews' Role
Dr. Thomas Andrews became a doctor in Edinburgh in 1835. He was hired at age 26 to help with the many patients. He was paid £60 a year. Belfast grew very fast, reaching 350,000 people in Victorian times. But the city had problems with bad housing and sewage. This led to at least four outbreaks of Cholera. In January 1847, a new hospital for fever patients opened on the site. It had 159 beds.
Treating Fevers
In 1849, all fever patients were moved to the new fever hospital. This meant the main Belfast General Hospital could do more surgeries. The fever hospital treated many diseases like cholera, smallpox, and measles. Besides fever patients, the infirmary also took people with burns and long-term illnesses. By 1883, there were as many as 1,338 patients.
Hospital Expands
More nurses were hired over the years, though many were not formally trained. By 1867, there were fifteen paid nurses. In November 1884, Miss Ella Pirrie became the head nurse. She knew Florence Nightingale, a famous nurse. In December 1884, Miss Nightingale sent a Christmas gift to Miss Pirrie for the children in the infirmary.
Soon after, nurses got uniforms for the first time. Nursing training also began in Belfast under Miss Pirrie. The first nurse, Miss Craig, was sent to Dublin for a nursing exam. Nurse Craig became the head nurse in 1892. A special unit for mothers and babies was started by Dr. John McLeish. It later became the Jubilee Maternity Hospital. This hospital moved into a new building on the site in 1935.
Modern Hospital Era
The National Health Service was created in 1948. Three of the hospital's lab assistants were among the last people from the old workhouse to work there. They had no parents and were known as Pauper John, Skipper, and Red Hand Rufus.
In the late 1960s, Dr. Dimitrios Oreopoulos, a doctor from Greece, had seeds planted at the hospital. These seeds came from the Tree of Hippocrates in Kos, Greece. This was to celebrate the hospital's planned growth. One of these trees, near Erskine House, grew too big to move. It stayed in place and is now a peaceful spot for patients and staff. This tree was named Northern Ireland's Tree of the Year in 2017.
The tall tower block, which is 15 floors high, was designed by Louis Adair Roche. It opened in January 1986.
Maternity services moved to the Royal Maternity Hospital in May 2000. The Jubilee Maternity Hospital then closed.
In February 2003, the hospital was chosen as one of nine main hospitals in Northern Ireland. This meant it would be a key place for healthcare. A special cancer center with 72 beds opened in March 2006.
The Accident and Emergency Department closed in 2011. This was due to money and staff problems. Patients needing urgent care now go to the Royal Victoria Hospital or The Mater Infirmorum Hospital.
Teaching Future Doctors
The hospital is a teaching hospital. This means medical students from Queen's University Belfast come here to learn and train.
COVID-19 Response
In April 2020, during the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, the hospital's tower block was used as one of the UK's Nightingale Hospitals. These hospitals were set up to help with the large number of patients needing care.
