A Ministry of Defence Hospital Unit, or MDHU, is military healthcare facility, embedded within a civilian

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 " ...

hospital. The United Kingdom Armed Forces no longer run dedicated

military hospital A military hospital is a hospital owned and operated by a military. They are often reserved for the use of military personnel and their dependents, but in some countries are made available to civilians as well. They may or may not be located on a ...

s by themselves, the last of such hospitals closing or turned over to the local

NHS 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 " ...

trust in 1995, (though the hospital at

RAF Akrotiri RAF Akrotiri ( el, Βασιλική Πολεμική Αεροπορία Ακρωτηρίου) is a large Royal Air Force base on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is located in the Western Sovereign Base Area, one of two areas which compr ...

, Cyprus, stayed open until 2013). A MDHU operates under the direction of

Defence Medical Services The Defence Medical Services (DMS) is an umbrella organisation within the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom. It consists of the Defence Medical Services Group, part of Strategic Command, the Royal Navy Medical Service, Army Medical Servic ...

, who operate seven MDHUs in the UK. There are MDHU based at: *

Frimley Park Hospital Frimley Park Hospital is a large general hospital in Frimley, Surrey. It is managed by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, and houses a private wing. History Frimley Park Hospital was opened to provide a full range of acute services to pat ...

Frimley Frimley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately southwest of central London. The town is of Saxon origin, although it is not listed in Domesday Book of 1086. Train services to Frimley (on the line between ...

, Surrey *

Queen Alexandra Hospital The Queen Alexandra Hospital (commonly known as QA Hospital, QAH or simply QA) is a large NHS hospital in Portsmouth, Hampshire. Located in Cosham, it is run by Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and has a Ministry of Defence Hospital U ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

* Derriford Hospital, Plymouth *

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is a major, 1,215 bed, tertiary NHS and military hospital in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, situated very close to the University of Birmingham. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construc ...

James Cook University Hospital The James Cook University Hospital is a tertiary referral hospital and regional major trauma centre in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England located on the A172 (Marton Road). Having 1,046 beds, it caters for most specialities and forms par ...

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

John Radcliffe Hospital The John Radcliffe Hospital (informally known as the JR) is a large tertiary teaching hospital in Oxford, England. It forms part of the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is named after John Radcliffe, an 18th-century physic ...

, Oxfordshire *

Queen Victoria Hospital The Queen Victoria Hospital (QVH), located in East Grinstead, West Sussex, England is the specialist reconstructive surgery centre for the south east of England, and also provides services at clinics across the region. It has become world-fam ...

, East Grinstead The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is also responsible for the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Birmingham. MoD Hospital Units cater to service personnel and their dependents but do not treat operational casualties, who are treated at QEH (and formerly at

Selly Oak Hospital Selly Oak Hospital was situated in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham, England. Previously managed by the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the hospital closed in 2011. History Origins The site was originally selected for th ...

). MoD Hospital Unit staff are fully integrated with civilian staff at their respective hospitals and are not limited to treating only military patients and their dependents. As they are military personnel, they wear their service uniforms to work. Staff are generally drawn from all three services and are liable to be deployed when needed.

References

{{UK-mil-stub Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) Military medical facilities in the United Kingdom