|
End
of an era for Southport Health Services
Written by Matthew King,
Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust
THE move of
Audiology, ENT and the Eye Unit from the Southport General Infirmary
at the end of this month will mean the end of General Hospital
services on the Scarisbrick New Road site after a period of some 112
years.
Jonathan Parry, Chief Executive said:- "This is the end of an
era that began as far back as 1825 when the Southport Infirmary and
Dispensary opened in Lord Street. There were then considerable
developments over the next 70 years, including the building of the
first Infirmary in Virginia Street in 1870, until the Infirmary
eventually opened on the Scarisbrick New Road site in 1895. In
one way we will be sorry to be moving from the Infirmary as it has
served both the people of Southport and the health service very
well. But the building has become very tired, and expensive to run,
so we are delighted to finally be able to move to newly refurbished,
modern accommodation at Southport and Ormskirk."
A Brief History of Southport General Infirmary.
The early years...
IN March of 1825 a new charity was instituted for the provision of
medical benefits for local handloom weavers as well as for "strangers".
That organisation used the Dispensary building completed 2 years
earlier in Lord Street. Originally called the North Meols Local
Dispensary, it developed into the Southport Infirmary and Dispensary
and served until 1870.
Artist's impression of the Infirmary,
Virginia Street 1870
On 5 March 1870, the foundation stone of the Southport Infirmary was
laid in Virginia Street and it opened on 2 January 1871. The
building provided accommodation for 6 male and 6 female patients and
also had 2 spacious wards isolated for the reception of fever and
infectious diseases. It also had a mortuary, a disinfecting house
and its own laundry. In its 1st year it treated 115 inpatients and
by 1894 this had risen to 219 inpatients, of which 30 were cases of
infectious diseases. By 1876 there were increasing concerns over the
inadequacy of the arrangements for infectious cases and it was
decided to discontinue the infectious disease wards. Thereafter, the
whole attention of the hospital was turned towards the treatment of
accident and non-infectious medical cases.
Move to Scarisbrick New Road
Despite subsequent additions to the building, by 1892 it was felt
that the Virginia Street Infirmary was no longer able to carry out
its proper functions. Its bed compliment was insufficient to meet
demands and the building was becoming unsafe. Following an appeal
for a new Infirmary, the Scarisbrick family gave a 5 acre site on
which the present Infirmary now stands. The foundation stone was
laid on 27 October 1892 and it opened on 26 September 1895. The
buildings were erected at a cost of £25,000 and there was
accommodation for 60 patients in the men's, women's and children's
wards.
Women's ward, 1898
The new Infirmary, circa 1900
In 1899, following expansion of the district it served to include
Ainsdale, the Infirmary amalgamated with The Eye, Ear and Throat
Hospital.
The 3 years leading up to the outbreak of the First World
War saw the building of a new ward and the opening of a new Massage
Department and x-ray Department. During the War the provision of a
further 120 beds for wounded soldiers necessitated the provision of
a new anaesthetic room and Pathology Department in 1916. By 1918 a
total of 1,173 wounded and invalided British soldiers had been seen
at the hospital.
Operating table, 1909
|
After the First
World War
Over the next decade
there were further developments including what might seem today as a
rather strange Artificial Sunlight Department. One of the major
developments on the site occurred in 1928 when Miss
Christiana Hartley, JP proposed to present the town with a fully
equipped Maternity Hospital. This was opened in May 1932,
independent of the Infirmary, although the Board of the Infirmary
provided the nursing, food, medicine, laundry and other
requirements.
In June 1939 building began on a new Women's Surgical Ward and, with
the outbreak of war in September, 117 emergency beds were added to
the 150 ordinary beds already in use. 1943 saw the start of the
Appointments System for outpatients, and 173 wounded soldiers were
admitted during the year. A new Rehabilitative Department was opened
the following year.
Children's ward, circa 1946
Verandah of children's ward, circa 1946
The National Health Service
In the Infirmary's silver jubilee year, plans were made for
considerable extensions, including accommodation for an additional
178 beds. On 5 July 1948 the Infirmary ceased to be a voluntary
hospital and passed into state control in the fledgling National
Health Service. It was one of 14 hospitals under Liverpool Regional
Hospital Board.
The 1950s and 60s saw further improvement and expansion of the
hospital's facilities. These included the provision of emergency
lighting, a new Pharmacy, which allowed the increasingly busy
Outpatient and Casualty Department to be separated into 2 distinct
departments. In 1963 there were improvements and extensions to the
theatre suite and a new mortuary refrigeration unit was built. In
1966 an automatic film processing unit was installed in the X-ray
Department. In 1964, post-graduate courses for General Practitioners
started.
The 1st half of the 1960s saw a 30% increase in surgical work at the
Infirmary and an increase of 20% in all services at the hospital.
The bed complement for 1966 was 104; by 1978 it had risen to 205.
Operating theatre, 1970
The Infirmary, 1970
The beginning of the end
During the late 1970s it became evident that a new hospital was
needed to cope with demands and plans were put in place for the
building of the Southport & Formby District General Hospital on Town
Lane. That opened in 1988 and the vast majority of services moved
from the Infirmary on Scarisbrick Road when it opened. However, some
services remained at the Infirmary including the Eye Unit, ENT,
Audiology, Chiropody, Speech Therapy, Paton Ward for the elderly and
some pathology services.
The Spinal Injuries Unit temporarily moved to the Infirmary from the
Promenade Hospital in 1988 before moving to its current home at the
General Hospital some two years later. The Christiana Hartley
maternity unit remained on the Infirmary site until 1999, and since
then the other services provided on the site have slowly moved to
new accommodation either in the Southport & Formby District General
Hospital or the Ormskirk & District General Hospital.
The move of Audiology, ENT and the Eye Unit means that there will no
longer be General Hospital services on the Scarisbrick New Road
site, although Mersey Care NHS Trust still has services for elderly
mentally ill patients. |
