Royal Lancaster Infirmary
Hospital in North West England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal Lancaster Infirmary (RLI) is a hospital in the city of Lancaster, England.[2][3] It lies to the south of the city centre, between the A6 road and the Lancaster Canal. It is managed by the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.[4]
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| Lancaster Royal Infirmary | |
|---|---|
| University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust | |
Original building of Royal Lancaster Infirmary | |
  Shown in Lancashire | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Lancaster, Lancashire, North West England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 54.0425°N 2.8003°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Public NHS |
| Type | Teaching |
| Services | |
| Yes Accident & Emergency | |
| Beds | 387[1] |
| History | |
| Founded | 1781 |
| Links | |
| Website | uhmb |
| Lists | Hospitals in the United Kingdom |
History
The infirmary has its origins in a dispensary which opened on Castle Hill in 1781 and a fever hospital established in 1815.[5] These two institutions combined in premises in Thurnham Street in 1833.[5]
A larger site on Ashton Road, which had previously been known as the Springfield Estate,[6] was bought for £2,471 in 1888[7] and, following a donation of nearly £10,000 by James Williamson, a local businessman,[8] the first building of the new hospital, designed by architects Paley and Austin,[9] was opened by the Duke and Duchess of York in 1896.[7] The original building is now Grade II listed.[9] Springfield Hall was retained and used as an overnight nurses' home for the hospital.[6]
A new maternity unit opened in 1979, the pathology building was added in 1994 and the new centenary building opened in 1996.[7]
The Huggett Suite, a unit for treating stroke patients built at a cost of £1 million, opened in spring 2017[10] and a new therapies outpatient department, built at a cost of £1.2 million, opened in 2018.[11]
Notable staff
- Dame Sheila Quinn, DBE, FRCN, RGN, RM, RNT trained as a nurse at the infirmary between 1943-1946. Quinn was president of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) from 1982 to 1986.[12]
Performance
An inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) published in February 2017 gave the hospital a good overall rating with caring graded as outstanding but with patient safety requiring improvement.[13]
Public transport
The hospital is served by buses from the city centre and surrounding areas, including a park and ride service from a car park adjacent to junction 34 of the M6 motorway.[14] It is about 0.7 miles (1.1 km) from Lancaster railway station on foot, but further when driving.[15]
