Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
NHS Grampian
Main entrance to the Infirmary
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
Shown in Aberdeen
Geography
Location	Foresterhill, Aberdeen, Scotland
Coordinates	57°09′17″N 2°08′10″W / 57.1546°N 2.1360°W / 57.1546; -2.1360Coordinates: 57°09′17″N 2°08′10″W / 57.1546°N 2.1360°W / 57.1546; -2.1360
Organisation
Care system	NHS Scotland
Type	Teaching
Affiliated university	University of Aberdeen Robert Gordon University
Services
Emergency department	Yes – Major Trauma Centre
Beds	922
History
Opened	1737
Links
Website	Website
Lists	Hospitals in Scotland

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) is the largest hospital in the Grampian area, located on the Foresterhill site in Aberdeen, Scotland.^[1] ARI is a teaching hospital with around 900 inpatient beds, offering tertiary care for a population of over 600,000 across the North of Scotland. It offers all medical specialities with the exception of heart and liver transplants. It is managed by NHS Grampian.

History[]

The hospital has it origins in a facility established at Woolmanhill in 1739.^[2] The move to the current site formed part of the Aberdeen Joint Hospitals Scheme as envisaged by Professor Matthew Hay, which involved the development of an integrated medical campus at Foresterhill. The granite buildings on the site were designed by James Brown Nicol.^[3] The hospital was officially opened on 23 September 1936 by the Duke and Duchess of York, with the first patients admitted a month later.^[4] It joined the National Health Service in 1948.^[2]

In 1984, a hyperbaric oxygen unit was built for the treatment of decompression illness^[4] and the hospital's test-tube baby unit achieving a number of successful pregnancies in 1985, its first year of operation.^[4][5]

In 1986, a new £550,000 out-patient eye clinic opened, offering corrective laser eye surgery,^[4] and in 1989, the hospital introduced a breast cancer screening service for women over the age of 50, with X-rays taken every three years.^[4]

In the 1980s John Mallard led a team which built the first whole body MRI scanner.^[6] The world's first whole-body MRI scanner was used for diagnostic imaging between 1980 and 1983. The prototype machine, Mark One is now on display in the hospital's Art Gallery, The Suttie Arts Space.^[7] Following fundraising by Evening Express readers, in 1992 a Siemens scanner, costing £870,000 was brought.^[4]

In 2013, a £110m emergency care centre development was completed.^[8] This was the first time that the Foresterhill campus had hosted emergency and urgent care facilities in the same building, and 75% of the beds in the centre are single-occupancy.^[9]

In February 2014, it was revealed that the hospital has a repairs backlog of £60 million.^[10] On 26 June 2014, Finance Secretary John Swinney announced a £120 million investment for a new cancer centre and maternity hospital on the site.^[11]

In 2016, it became one of four major trauma centres as part of a national major trauma network in Scotland.^[12]

Services[]

There are social workers that can be contacted in the hospital,^[13] and a citizens advice office.^[14] The hospital is served by the volunteer-run radio station, Grampian Hospital Radio.^[15]

Granite medical wards

Transportation[]

The complex is served by several bus services with regular connections to the city centre and service to places as far as Inverurie and Oldmeldrum in the north, and Cove Bay in the south.^[16]

A new multistorey carpark with space for over 1,000 cars was opened in 2017.^[17]

Research[]

There are close links with the University of Aberdeen's medical school and there has been pioneering research in many fields, including the development of MRI and PET scanning.^[18] A new PET scanner was installed in 2006.^[19]

It has been one of the centres evaluating telemedicine equipment and developing services in Scotland.^[20]

Performance[]

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland produced a report entitled “Learning from serious failings in care” in July 2015. The investigation was launched after recent scandals in the health service among which were concerns about patient safety and care at the Infirmary.^[21] They found leadership and accountability were often lacking but bullying was endemic. Their 20 recommendations for improvements in the NHS included a set of minimum safe staffing levels for consultants, doctors, nurses and other staff in hospital settings. They criticised a target driven culture, saying: "Quality care must become the primary influence on patient experience... and the primary indicator of performance."^[22]

References[]