Derriford Hospital is a large

teaching hospital A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...

in Plymouth,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The hospital serves Plymouth and nearby areas of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. It also provides tertiary

cardiothoracic surgery Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart (heart disease), lungs ( lung disease), and other pleural or mediastinal str ...

neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and pe ...

and renal transplant surgery for the whole of the South West Peninsula. It is managed by the

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, formerly known as Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust is the organisation which runs Derriford Hospital, and the co-located Royal Eye Infirmary (REI), as well as the Child Development Centre in Plymouth, Devon. ...

. It was designated a major trauma centre in 2013. A helipad capable of night operation was opened in 2015, to replace the existing daytime-only grass pad. The hospital is used for clinical training of medical students from the Plymouth University Peninsula School of Medicine. It is one of five hospitals with attached Ministry of Defence Hospital Units to cater to service personnel.

History

In 1950, there was a proposal for a single hospital for the Plymouth area. The regional hospital board decided that this would be built at Derriford, at the cost of £2million (). The planned hospital was expected to have around 900 beds, and would be built service by service as the other hospitals around Plymouth are closed. After all services transferred from

Plymouth General Hospital Plymouth General Hospital was an acute general hospital in Plymouth, Devon. History The hospital has it origins in the Dock and Stonehouse Public Dispensary established in Chapel Street, Devonport in 1815. This facility became too small and a n ...

and renal services started transferring from the

Freedom Fields Hospital Freedom Fields Hospital was an acute hospital in Plymouth that closed in 1998. The site formerly occupied by the hospital has now been largely redeveloped for residential use. History The facility was designed by Arthur and Dwelly as a workhouse ...

, Derriford Hospital officially opened in 1981 and became the primary hospital in Plymouth. When it opened, two wards were allocated to create a school for hospitalised children. The school continued to provide education for 30 years until it was replaced by the newly opened Plymouth Hospital and Outreach School in 2011. In August 2011, a purpose built dialysis unit was added to the hospital. In 2012, the Peninsula Trauma Centre opened, designated nationally as a major trauma centre, receiving 400 patients by

air ambulance Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...

each year. In 2015, a new helipad was built at a cost of £1.7M. The helipad is large enough to accept search and rescue helicopters, and was the first in the region to allow night time landings. In 2022, the helipad was subject of a major incident when a woman was killed by a HM Coastguard Search And Rescue Helicopter. One woman was also seriously injured.

Facilities

Derriford is a teaching hospital, linked to the Peninsula Medical School, and has a Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit integrated into the facility, with military personnel working in medical roles. The hospital includes specialist services, including pancreatic cancer surgery, plastic surgery and neonatal intensive care. In 2016, more than 48,000 people used the hospital each week, accessing 900 beds and 1,000 car parking spaces. The bus terminal at the hospital is the second largest in Plymouth.

References

External links

* {{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1981 NHS hospitals in England Teaching hospitals in England Hospitals in Devon Buildings and structures in Plymouth, Devon Hospitals established in 1981 Brutalist architecture in England

History

Facilities

See also

References

External links