Musgrave Park Hospital is a specialist hospital in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, Northern Ireland. It specialises in orthopaedics, rheumatology, sports medicine and rehabilitation of patients of all ages. These specialties are spread out across a large site in the leafy suburbs of South Belfast. The Hospital is named after the of adjacent municipal parkland known as Musgrave Park, first opened to the public in 1920. The hospital is managed by the

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust (BHSCT) is a health organisation covering Belfast, Northern Ireland. The trust is one of five new trusts which were created on 1 April 2007 by the then Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safe ...

History

The hospital opened in 1920. The

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constructed

nissen hut A Nissen hut is a prefabricated steel structure for military use, especially as barracks, made from a half-cylindrical skin of corrugated iron. Designed during the First World War by the American-born, Canadian-British engineer and inventor Majo ...

s on the site during the

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to create a temporary base for soldiers preparing to take part in the

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. The hospital has played its part in the history of

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

. On 15 December 1980, Sean McKenna, one of the original seven

hunger strikers In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period. In the ...

was moved to Musgrave Park Hospital. On 2 November 1991, a bomb planted by the Provisional IRA exploded in the Military Wing at Musgrave Park hospital. Two soldiers were killed (one

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, named Phil Cross, the other

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, named Craig Pantry) and 11 other people were injured, among them a five-year-old girl and a baby of four months. The of Semtex exploded in a service tunnel connecting the Withers block, containing orthopaedic and children's wards and the Military Wing. The dead and injured were watching a rugby match on television in the Military Wing's social club. The original military nissen huts, which had housed various hospital departments during their lifetime, were demolished to make way for the new Regional Acquired Brain Injury Unit which opened in 2006.

Hospital Services

Hospital services include:

Specialist units

* The Orthopaedics Unit (the Withers Wards) makes the hospital one of the leading orthopaedic and musculoskeletal centres of excellence in Europe. It consists of 6 orthopaedic wards; 4 adult, 1 children and 1 ward specialising in spinal injuries.Musgrave Park Hospital
The wards are named for Mr. J Withers, orthopaedic surgeon and one of the founders of the Northern Ireland Council for Orthopaedic Development. * The Rheumatology Unit treats people with bone and joint disease. It is the leading centre for the treatment of rheumatic disease in Northern Ireland. * The Diagnostic Imaging Services Unit offers a new (second) full-body MRI scanner which aims to scan an additional 5,500 patients each year. * The Duke of Connaught Unit is a Medical Unit primarily serving military personnel based in Northern Ireland.

Rehabilitation

* Meadowlands is a

rehabilitation Rehabilitation or Rehab may refer to: Health * Rehabilitation (neuropsychology), therapy to regain or improve neurocognitive function that has been lost or diminished * Rehabilitation (wildlife), treatment of injured wildlife so they can be retur ...

unit which specialises in Care of Old People. It has a particular focus on the rehabilitation of patients following fractures. * The MITRE Trust Rehabilitation Unit (MRU) was officially opened in May 2005 by Ireland Rugby player, David Humphreys. The 40,000 ft² building cost £3.5 million to build and is purpose-built to provide regional orthopaedic and

physiotherapy Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patient ...

services. Musgrave Park also boasts a custom hip-manufacturing unit on-site, one of only five such facilities in the world. * The Acquired Brain Injury Unit was opened by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

and the

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on 14 May 2006. The £9 million pound state-of-the-art complex provides specialist care and intensive rehabilitation physiotherapy for 25 inpatients and 15 outpatients with traumatic brain injuries. These patients were previously being treated in

Forster Green Hospital Forster Green Hospital was a non-acute hospital located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It offered a range of services including neurology, care of older people, and a child and family centre. The hospital was located on a 47-acre site in South Belf ...

. The centre is also surrounded by high quality landscaped gardens designed to play a role in healing and patient rehabilitation.Musgrave Park Hospital Acquired Brain Injury Unit – Paving Case Studies

References

External links

*
Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority inspection reports
{{authority control Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Health and Social Care (Northern Ireland) hospitals Hospitals in Belfast 1920 establishments in Ireland Hospitals established in 1920