Overview
In 1833, Sir Watkin Williams Wyn founded The Dispensary. In
1838, the Infirmary was built. During it’s lifetime, many
extensions and improvements were made to the Infirmary (now the
Art College) and it continued to be used as the town’s
hospital until 1918 when it was decided to build a new hospital
as a memorial to all those lost in the First World War.
Consequently, 1926 saw the opening of the Wrexham and East
Denbighshire War Memorial Hospital. In 1934 the Maelor General
Hospital was formed when three local authority institutions came
under the auspices of the Ministry of Health.
The three institutions that combined to form the Maelor General
Hosptial were Croesnewydd Hospital, the Joint Fever Hospital and
Plas Maelor. The newly formed Maelor General Hospital could
accommodate 276 Patients and worked in conjunction with the War
Memorial Hospital. In 1939 the Emergency Medical Services
commandeered the buildings to serve as an emergency military
hospital to those injured at Dunkirk.
The Old Infirmary , Wrexham:-
Roseneath Hospital+ - attached to Wrexham War Memorial Hospital - used for Elderley Sick Persons:-
Wrexham
Hospital Edward VII Ward - Men's ward, April 1907:-
View of the newly opened Infirmary at Wrexham:-
Prince Henry, the Bishop of Bangor and Lord Kenyon (Lord Lieutenant of Debighshire) at the opening ceremony of Wrexham War Memorial Hospital:-
The nurses
formed a guard of honour for Prince Henry after the opeing of the
hospital:-
Committee of the Samaritan Fund of the Wrexham and East Denbighshire War Memorial Hospital:-
Paper clipping probably from the local paper... "Services Acknowledged - October 18th 1933. A few weeks ago a photograph was taken of the members of the Samaritan Fund Committee, which works effectively on behalf of the Wrexham and East Denbighshire War Memorial Hospital and an interesting little ceremony took place recently at the Wellington O?fe, Wrexham when framed copies of the photograph were presented to Mr E Holman, one of the founders of the Samaritan Fund and a past President of the Committee and Mr A Chesters, also a past president and treasurer of the fund for many years, in recognition of the their services to the Samaritan Fund Committee. The ceremony was presided over by Mr H E Crease, a trustee of the fund, there were about 40 members of the Committee present. Mr Caradog Williams, a past president, made the presentation of the photograph to Mr Holman while Mr D J Parry handed over the photograph to Mr Chesters. Speeches of appreciation were also given by several members of the committee. Mr Holman and Mr Chesters responded. Mr Crease was cordially thanks for presiding and for providing refreshments. A copy of the photograph is also being presented to the Hospital Management Committee in the near future."
Wrexham Hospital Children's Ward (date?):-
History of Wrexham Maelor
Wrexham Infirmary was founded in 1833 by Sir Watkin Williams Wynn, through the efforts of Thomas Taylor Griffith, a local Physician who in the preceding year had attended Princess Victoria (later Queen Victoria) when she was taken ill whist visiting Wynnstay. Initially it was called the Dispensary and five years later a new building was erected in Regent Street, known as The Infirmary. This building, with several extensions and improvements, continued to serve as the. town’s hospital, until 1918 when it was decided that a new hospital should be built as a memorial to those who had died in the First World War. The Wrexham and East Denbighshire War Memorial Hospital was opened in 1926.
The Maelor General Hospital was formed from the three former local authority institutions becoming vested under the Ministry of Health to provide, together with the War Memorial Hospital, a hospital service for the patients in Wrexham and the peripheral areas of North Wales. The institutions were the Joint Fever Hospital, the Croesnewydd Hospital, which was administrated by the local council, and Plas Maelor. Plas Maelor marks the foundation of the Maelor General Hospital. The buildings were opened in 1934 by the Rt. Hon. David Lloyd George, MP, and were provided by the then Denbighshire County Council as accommodation for 276 men and women, old and infirm.
Plas Maelor, the first building of its kind to be erected by the County Council, was built for the purpose of replacing the workhouse. These new buildings, constructed on an eleven acre site abutting Croesnewydd Road, occupied ground which had previously been a potato field worked by tramps staying the night at the workhouse. Plas Maelor was also situated adjacent to an Isolation Hospital which had been built by the Joint Fever Hospital Committee at the end of the previous century, on a piece of land known as Cac Margaret Halkyn. Shortly after the outbreak of war in 1939, Plas Maelor was taken over by the Emergency Medical Service and served as an emergency military hospital, receiving patients from Dunkirk.
When the hospitals became vested in the Ministry in 1948, the Hospital Management Committee were faced with the problem of developing the service to meet growing needs and a policy of adapting and improving the existing buildings and services was instigated. As a first step, the three hospitals were grouped together and renamed the Maelor General Hospital. Gradually, developments and improvements in the facilities took place. As part of Clwyd Health Authority’s health care strategy, acute services based at the War Memorial Hospital were integrated onto the Maelor campus with the completion of the first phase of the nucleus development opened by the Duchess of Kent in 1986. The hospital was renamed the Wrexham Maelor Hospital. (extracted from County Archives).
Wrexham Maelor Hospital became an NHS Trust on 1st April 1993 and it provides a comprehensive range of acute diagnostic and treatment services for an area which extends beyond North Wales to the Mawddach Valley, parts of North Powys, Cheshire and Shropshire. This major District General Hospital is the third largest in Wales and more than £40 million has been invested in the redevelopment thus far in order to create a hospital which is truly patient-focused. At the moment, services to patients are provided across a 54 acre campus. In past decades many of the facilities were developed in an ad-hoc fashion which resulted in an inefficient hospital site with inappropriate deployment of staff. However, the Hospital has undergone enormous change in order to accommodate the majority of clinical services on one side of the road which dissects the site. Most of the Hospital facilities are now housed in newly built or redesigned and revamped accommodation. The strategy for the development of the site and services "Strategic Review is explained briefly in the next section.
In September 1995, a new 50-bedded Acute Psychiatric facility opened on the Hospital campus, as part of the Mental Illness Strategy. This facility, together with the EMI Unit, is managed by Clwydian Community Care NHS Trust with the Hospital providing many of the support services. In April 1996, the Trust took on responsibility for the management of the Artificial Limb and Appliance Centre (ALAC), which is sited immediately opposite the Hospital.
There is a strong academic commitment including a first-class Post Graduate Centre, the Wrexham Medical Institute, which has superb facilities including library, lecture theatre and seminar rooms providing an active centre for learning and the development of Hospital and Community Doctors, as well as GP’s and other multidisciplinary events. Adjacent to this facility is the North Wales School of Nursing and Midwifery and the College of Radiography, which are now an integral part of Bangor University. The Academic Unit is linked to the University Hospital of Wales, College of Medicine and there is a unique Medical Technology Park adjacent to the Hospital Campus providing innovative research and development opportunities. In addition, the,. Hospital acts as host to the North Wales branches of the NHS Wales Benc4imarking Reference Centre and the NHS Wales Staff College.
The Hospital has excellent residential accommodation,
principally for Junior Doctors, and a modest, but well-used crèche
facility.
Introduction
As explained, until 1986, Hospital care was split across the
War Memorial and Maelor General Hospital sites leading to
inefficient delivery of care. For example, Casualty was located
in the War Memorial Hospital whilst Intensive Care was found at
the Maelor. Significant improvements were made in 1986 when the
"Phase I" extension was added to the Maelor Hospital
and services were transferred there from the War Memorial
Hospital. Further phases had been planned in the 1970’s but
it was clear that they would have to be reviewed due to medical
advances. Similarly, changes in the way the NHS operated placed
greater emphasis on the need to justify new developments on the
basis of both improvements in care and also improved efficiency.
Aims
With the establishment of NHS Trust Status, local management were allowed greater control of strategic planning. Thus the management of the proposed Wrexham Maelor NHS Trust commissioned an extensive review of existing and future needs of acute services within Wrexham. The aim of the review was to ensure that the Health Services offered locally were efficient and designed to meet local needs by maximising the utilisation of resources and space. The following objectives were identified:
To move the Clinical Services from the North Site of the Campus, with the long term plan being to vacate the whole of the North Site.
To make more efficient use of modern purpose built facilities.
To prevent the need for significant expenditure on the
relatively poor accommodation of the North Site.
The Review
In 1992 a team of Doctors, Nursing Staff and Managers, with advice from the NHS Estates Department and the London School of Economics, were brought together to look again at how the Hospital might be developed. From the review a comprehensive Estates Investment Strategy was developed and funding was subsequently secured from the Welsh Office. Accomplishments include:
New main entrance and chapel opened New theatres opened
New surgical and medical wards opened New Gamma Camera unit and
Ultrasound suite
New Day Case Unit New ITU/HDU unit opened
New Cardiology unit opened Development of Rehabilitation unit
New Patient Services and Hospital Office opened Transfer of Care
of the Elderly to South Site completed
New Maternity unit and Paediatric ward opened New
Ophthalmology, ENT and Audiology outpatients opened
New Ophthalmology ward opened Engineering infrastructure
completed/supply services relocated from the North Site
New mortuary opened 2 new ward spaces available
Space available for relocating some X-Ray services and developing
other facilities
Inherent in the design of the Hospital is the appropriate
location of wards and theatres. The new intensive care and high
dependency unit is located between two sets of operating theatres
creating an area that can cope with the most critically ill
patients. Nearly all surgical wards are placed on the top floor
adjacent to the operating theatres. The Maternity wards, delivery
suite and Special Care Baby Unit are located alongside each other.
Other units and wards are appropriately located to provide an
efficient service and respect for the patient.
Future Developments
Strategic Review has resolved a vast number of problems previously facing the Wrexham Maelor Hospital site. However, there are still improvements to be made. Plans are in place to bring the two X-Ray departments, still located at opposite ends of the hospital, close together. The new ward spaces are currently being used to facilitate other changes and upgrades prior to the move of ENT, the last ward on the North side, in 1 ~99. Plans are also underway to raise some £2 million, the Millennium Wing appeal, to provide a new outpatient facility for specialist cancer treatment services with dedicated facilities for women. Medical and scientific developments require constant change and the planning process must be dynamic if future trends are to be met.
acknowledgement
http://www.uwcm.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/hospital_practice/hospital_profiles/Wrexham.htm