The Royal South Hants Hospital, known locally as "The RSH", is a community hospital in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. It is managed by

NHS Property Services NHS Property Services is a limited company owned by the Department of Health in the United Kingdom that took over the ownership of around 3,600 National Health Service (NHS) facilities in April 2013. Following the Health and Social Care Act 2012, s ...

History

The hospital was founded as a voluntary hospital in 1835 and moved into its first premises in St Mary Street as the Royal South Hampshire Infirmary in 1838. The foundation stone for new premises in Fanshawe Street was laid on 10 July 1843 and the hospital opened there in 1844. Joseph and William Bullar, doctors and brothers of children’s author Anne Bullar, funded additional wards for the hospital. These wards, named the Bullar Wards, were completed in 1851. St Paul's Chapel was completed in 1857 and the ''Eyre Crabbe Wing'', located on the east side of the site, was completed in 1868. In 1896, another new wing, containing a further two wards and some operating theatres, was started, as well as some cottages to house patients with infectious diseases and a mortuary. This new wing was officially opened by Princess Henry of Battenberg on 7 February 1900 and named the ''Victoria Jubilee Wing''. 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. As part of proposals to transfer mental health services from

Knowle Hospital Knowle Hospital, was a psychiatric hospital in the village of Knowle near the town of Fareham in Hampshire, southern England, which opened in 1852 and closed in 1996. History A committee of nine JPs were appointed at the Easter Quarter Sessi ...

, a psychiatry block was completed in 1979. The chapel fell out of use in 1992. On 31 March 2007 management of the hospital was passed to

Southampton City Primary Care Trust Southampton City Primary Care Trust was the NHS primary care trust (PCT) covering the city of Southampton in England. Established in April 2001, Southampton City was the very first PCT in the country. History The trust was established on 1 April ...

with several services transferring to

Southampton General Hospital Southampton General Hospital (SGH) is a large teaching hospital in Southampton, Hampshire, England run by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital was founded in 1900 as the Southampton Union Infirmary in Sh ...

and the

Princess Anne Hospital The Princess Anne Hospital is a maternity hospital in Southampton, England, adjacent to Southampton General Hospital. It is operated by the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital opened by Princess Anne on 28 ...

. In 2010 the psychiatry block was closed and a new adult mental health unit called Antelope House was opened, housing 50 acute beds and 12 psychiatric intensive care beds in a new £20 million building. With the abolition of primary care trusts as a result of the

Health and Social Care Act 2012 The Health and Social Care Act 2012c 7 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for the most extensive reorganisation of the structure of the National Health Service in England to date.''BMJ'', 2011; 342:d408Dr Lansley's Mon ...

, ownership of the hospital was transferred to

in April 2013. In spring 2018, Southampton City

Clinical Commissioning Group Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) were NHS organisations set up by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 to organise the delivery of NHS services in each of their local areas in England. On 1 July 2022 they were abolished and replaced by Integra ...

announced plans to demolish the derelict psychiatry block and replace it with a care home to accommodate 150 patients. As part of the plans, the two rehabilitation wards at the RSH would also be demolished, with the rehabilitation service moving to a new facility at the

Western Community Hospital The Western Community Hospital is a health facility in William Macleod Way in the Shirley / Millbrook area of Southampton, Hampshire, England. It is managed by the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. History The facility has its origins in tw ...

References

External links

National Archives entries for the RSH HospitalSolent.NHS TrustUniversity Hospital Southampton
{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1844 Hospital buildings completed in 1970 Religious buildings and structures completed in 1857 Hospitals in Hampshire Buildings and structures in Southampton NHS hospitals in England Grade II listed buildings in Hampshire 1835 establishments in England Voluntary hospitals

History

See also

References

External links