Aberdeen Royal Infirmary

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary
NHS Grampian
Main entrance to the Infirmary
Geography
Location	Foresterhill, Aberdeen, Scotland
Organisation
Care system	NHS Scotland
Hospital type	Teaching
Affiliated university	University of Aberdeen The Robert Gordon University
Services
Emergency department	Yes
Beds	922
History
Founded	1737
Links
Website	http://www.nhsgrampian.org/nhsgrampian/gra_display_hospital.jsp
Lists	Hospitals in Scotland

Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) is the largest hospital in NHS Grampian, located on the Foresterhill site in Aberdeen.^[1] ARI is a teaching hospital with around 900 inpatient beds, offering tertiary care for a population of over 600,000 across the North of Scotland. It offers all medical specialities with the exception of heart and liver transplants.

Research

There are close links with the University of Aberdeen's medical school and there has been pioneering research in many fields, including the development of MRI and PET scanning.^[2] A new PET scanner was installed in 2006.^[3]

It has been one of the centres evaluating telemedicine equipment and developing services in Scotland.^[4]

Facilities

The granite ARI buildings on the Foresterhill site were designed by James Brown Nicol in 1927.^[5] The hospital was officially opened on 23 September 1936 by the Duke and Duchess of York, with the first patients admitted a month later.^[6]

In 1984, a hyperbaric oxygen unit was built for the treatment of decompression illness.^[6]

In 1986, a new £550,000 out-patient eye clinic was opened. This can provide corrective laser eye surgery.^[6]

Since 1989, the hospital has had a breast cancer screening service for women over the age of 50, with X-rays taken every three years.^[6]

The hospital’s test-tube baby unit achieving a number of successful pregnancies in its first year of operation.^[6]

John Mallard led a team which built the first whole body MRI scanner.^[7] The world's first whole-body MRI scanner was used for diagnostic imaging between 1980 and 1983. The prototype machine, Mark One is now on display in the hospital's Art Gallery.^[8] Following fundraising by Evening Express readers, in 1992 a Siemens scanner, costing £870,000 was brought.^[6]

In 2013, a £110m emergency care centre development was completed.^[9] This was the first time that the Foresterhill campus had hosted emergency and urgent care facilities in the same building, and 75% of the beds in the centre are single-occupancy.^[10]

In February 2014, it was revealed that the hospital has a repairs backlog of £60million.^[11]

On 26 June 2014, Finance Secretary John Swinney announced a £120 million investment for a new cancer centre and maternity hospital at ARI.^[12]

From 2016, it will be one of 4 major trauma centres where specialist services are based as part of a new national major trauma network in Scotland.^[13]

There are social workers that can be contacted in the hospital,^[14] and a citizens advice office.^[15]

The hospital is served by the volunteer run radio station, Grampian Hospital Radio.^[16]

Granite medical wards

Performance

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland produced a report entitled “Learning from serious failings in care” in July 2015. The investigation was launched after recent scandals in the health service among which were concerns about patient safety and care at the Infirmary. ^[17] They found leadership and accountability were often lacking but bullying was endemic. Their 20 recommendations for improvements in the NHS included a set of minimum safe staffing levels for consultants, doctors, nurses and other staff in hospital settings. They criticised a target driven culture, saying: "Quality care must become the primary influence on patient experience... and the primary indicator of performance."^[18]

References

Coordinates: 57°09′17″N 2°08′10″W / 57.1546°N 2.1360°W / 57.1546; -2.1360