St John's Hospital is the main

general hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

, West Lothian, Scotland. Located in the Howden area of the town, it serves Livingston and the wider West Lothian region. St John's is a

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 ...

for the

University of Edinburgh Medical School The University of Edinburgh Medical School (also known as Edinburgh Medical School) is the medical school of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and the United Kingdom and part of the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine. It was esta ...

. It is managed by

NHS Lothian NHS Lothian is one of the 14 regions of NHS Scotland. It provides healthcare services in the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian and West Lothian areas. Its headquarters are at Waverley Gate, Edinburgh Services It is responsible for the ...

History

The hospital was commissioned to replace

Bangour General Hospital Bangour General Hospital was a hospital just west of the village of Dechmont, West Lothian, Scotland. It had its origins during the Second World War when hospital bed numbers in Scotland were greatly expanded to deal with the anticipated increas ...

, near

Dechmont Dechmont (Gaelic: ''Deagh Mhonadh'') is a small village located near Uphall, West Lothian in Scotland. Bangour Village Hospital is located to the west of Dechmont. It has an approximate population of 989 people. Its postal code is EH52. An allege ...

to the north of Livingston. Livingston Development Corporation, which oversaw the development of the

new town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

of Livingston from 1962, had planned to move the general hospital to Livingston from around 1974. The new hospital was officially opened by

The Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

in 1989.

Services

Hospital Services

The current facilities at St John's include a recently accident and emergency ward renovated in 2014, and a large

maternity ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestati ...

unit, with around 2,500 births annually. The

radiology Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiat ...

department uses a trust-wide PACS system, complete with 2 digital screening rooms, spiral CT, 4

ultrasound Ultrasound is sound waves with frequency, frequencies higher than the upper audible limit of human hearing range, hearing. Ultrasound is not different from "normal" (audible) sound in its physical properties, except that humans cannot hea ...

machines and a

gamma camera A gamma camera (γ-camera), also called a scintillation camera or Anger camera, is a device used to image gamma radiation emitting radioisotopes, a technique known as scintigraphy. The applications of scintigraphy include early drug development ...

. St John's contains many specialist services for south east Scotland, including oral and maxillofacial, burns and plastic surgery units. The hospital is being promoted as the main regional centre for

elective surgery Elective surgery or elective procedure (from the la, eligere, meaning to choose) is surgery that is scheduled in advance because it does not involve a medical emergency. Semi-elective surgery is a surgery that must be done to preserve the patien ...

, and as a centre for minimally invasive surgery. This centre, supported by University of Edinburgh professors, will provide Plastic surgery,

Gynaecology Gynaecology or gynecology (see spelling differences) is the area of medicine that involves the treatment of women's diseases, especially those of the reproductive organs. It is often paired with the field of obstetrics, forming the combined are ...

, Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) surgery,

orthopaedic 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 ...

surgery, and

urology Urology (from Greek οὖρον ''ouron'' "urine" and '' -logia'' "study of"), also known as genitourinary surgery, is the branch of medicine that focuses on surgical and medical diseases of the urinary-tract system and the reproductive org ...

. The ENT in patient facility formerly based in Edinburgh has been relocated and amalgamated with the ENT services already located at St John's and serving West Lothian, with the intention of merging it with the existing head and neck unit, to form another regional centre. The improvements would see 4,500 patients per year being treated at St Johns.

Paediatric services

There is a paediatric ward within the hospital, but this was temporarily closed to in-patients over July and August 2015. This was due to staffing issues. Despite re-opening on 17 August 2015, NHS Lothian decided to review the service. The review was scheduled for early-summer 2016, and would be carried out by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. The ward underwent a similar part closure in 2012.

Hospital Radio

Radio Grapevine Radio Grapevine is the hospital radio station serving St John's Hospital in Livingston, Scotland. It is run by a voluntary team of around 40 members who collect requests, produce and present shows, raise funds and present "outdoor broadcasts" ...

is the hospital radio station, which has been broadcasting to the main buildings of the hospital since 1991. They are a recognised Scottish registered charity. Patients, staff, family and friends can listen to this award-winning station dedicated to patient entertainment online via the Radio Grapevine website. They were the first Scottish hospital radio service to broadcast online. Patients can enjoy a dedicated request programme seven nights a week through their bedside units, day rooms or online.

Howden Health Centre

Howden Health Centre, is located within the hospital grounds, but predates the hospital by several years. It is a community health centre, and provides a range of health services for the local population. It also accommodates a large NHS medical practice.

Transport

The hospital is well linked by public transport in the area, with various buses calling there at some point in their route. It is 1.5 miles from Livingston North train station, which provides links to Bathgate, Edinburgh, Airdrie, and Glasgow via the recently reopened Airdrie-Bathgate line. It has a large car park which, along with all NHS-run hospitals in Scotland, had the parking charges abolished on 31 December 2008.

References

External links

*
St John's Hospital on the NHS inform website

Healthcare Improvement Scotland inspection reports
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Johns Hospital, Livingston NHS Lothian Hospital buildings completed in 1989 Teaching hospitals in Scotland Hospitals in West Lothian NHS Scotland hospitals Livingston, West Lothian