The Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital was a former hospital in
Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
on Stoney Stanton Road on the northern edge of the city centre. The hospital was opened in 1867 and closed in 2006, to be replaced by the new
University Hospital Coventry
University Hospital Coventry is a large National Health Service (NHS) hospital situated in the Walsgrave on Sowe area of Coventry, West Midlands, England, north-east of the city centre. It is part of the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwi ...
sited about 4 miles north east of the centre.
History
The hospital replaced a small hospital on Little Park Street which had opened in 1840. It employed three doctors for 12 beds in one ward. It became clear that this was not sufficient for the growing city, and in the 1860s fundraising began for a new purpose built general hospital. Construction began in 1864, and it was opened in 1867.
The hospital sustained extensive damage during the
Coventry Blitz
The Coventry Blitz (blitz: from the German word ''Blitzkrieg'' meaning "lightning war" ) or Coventration of the city was a series of bombing raids that took place on the British city of Coventry. The city was bombed many times during the Seco ...
in the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. During the large raid of
14 November 1940, the hospital took several direct hits, but no staff or patients were killed, and the hospital treated many of the injured. Much greater damage occurred during the large raid of
8 April 1941; the hospital suffered ten direct hits, which killed 21 patients, two doctors, seven nurses, and three
St John Ambulance
St John Ambulance is the name of a number of affiliated organisations in different countries which teach and provide first aid and emergency medical services, and are primarily staffed by volunteers. The associations are overseen by the internat ...
Brigade stretcher-bearers. All of the hospital's windows were shattered, and several buildings were ruined.
The hospital joined the
National Health Service
The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
in 1948; until then it had been a voluntary institution.
The hospital grew, and new buildings were added but its city centre site left it with little space to expand. In the 1960s a new hospital,
Walsgrave Hospital, was built on the edge of the city and upon its opening in 1970, Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital ceased to be the city's main hospital. It retained
outpatient
A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health care ...
services, the
accident and emergency
An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...
,
ophthalmology
Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders.
An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...
, and
orthopaedics
Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternatively spelt orthopaedics), is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...
departments, and provided laboratory services to both sites
The division of Coventry's medical services between two hospitals caused operational problems; in 2002 a
private finance initiative
The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 199 ...
contract was signed to build a new 'super hospital' on the site of Walsgrave Hospital to replace both that and Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital. Upon its opening in July 2006, both of the older hospitals closed.
After the closure of the hospital the post-war buildings were demolished and the site was used as a car park. However, the former nurses’ home and outpatients department, which were
listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
s and dated from 1908 and 1909 respectively, were left standing. They remained empty and derelict for 13 years. In 2015 plans were submitted to convert these buildings into student accommodation, work on which began in 2019.
References
{{commonscat, Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital
External links
13 amazing old photos of Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital- Coventry Telegraph - Old photographs of the hospital
The old Coventry and Warwickshire Hospital site- Coventry Telegraph
Hospital buildings completed in 1867
Defunct hospitals in England
Hospitals in the West Midlands (county)
Buildings and structures in Coventry