History
The hospital began life as the Shirley Warren Poor Law Infirmary in 1900,to provide hospital beds previously provided at the workhouse infirmary in St Mary's. The Royal South Hampshire Hospital was the voluntary hospital, founded in 1838 in the city. The initial 35-acre (140,000 m2) site cost the Poor Law Guardians £8,200, and the foundation stone was laid on 31 March 1900. The original building, housing 289 beds, cost £64,800 to construct; it has since been demolished.
Southampton Borough Council took responsibility for the hospital in 1929, expanding the number of beds to 431. At this stage, the hospital became known as the Borough Hospital. When the National Health Service came into being in 1948, the hospital took its present name.
The Wessex Neurological Unit opened on the site in 1965, and the East Wing was constructed in 1974, providing 450 additional beds, a new Accident and Emergency Department, and a children's unit. Three years later, the Centre Block was built, which still provides the main entrance to the hospital. The 7-level Centre Block cost over £9 million to construct.
In 1983, the £10 million West Wing was constructed, adding 472 beds to the hospital; this was followed a year later by installation of the Wessex Body Scanner at a cost of £1.5 million.
In 2005, a new cardiac centre was opened, having cost around £53 million to build. In addition to these buildings, the University of Southampton has a number of buildings on the site, which are used both for teaching and research. In particular, the hospital houses renowned centres of excellence in the treatment of cancer, heart disease, respiratory illness, neurological disease, gastro-intestinal conditions and illnesses affecting children. The hospital is fortunate to benefit from a high number of specialist consultants working in large multi-disciplinary teams and plays a leading role in the development of new and improved treatments for NHS patients.
The hospital is currently undergoing upgrades in preparation to be a Major Trauma Centre under the new NHS plans for Regional Trauma Networks, with Southampton General covering the whole Solent Area, Portsmouth, the rest of Hampshire and also the Isle of Wight. A new helipad came into operation in 2012, and the whole Emergency Department is planned to have a major refit to dramatically increase capacity and capabilities, with a separate children's Emergency Department also.
Read more about this topic: Southampton General Hospital
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