Downshire Hospital
| Downshire Hospital | |
|---|---|
| South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust | |
.jpg) Downshire Hospital | |
  Shown in Northern Ireland | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland |
| Coordinates | 54°19′22″N 5°41′41″W / 54.32267°N 5.69459°W |
| Organisation | |
| Type | Specialist |
| Services | |
| Speciality | Psychiatric hospital |
| History | |
| Opened | 1869 |
The Downshire Hospital (Irish: Ospidéal Downshire) is a 16-bed psychiatric hospital at Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland, for both psychiatric intensive-care patients and low secure rehabilitation.
History
The hospital, which was designed by Henry Smyth, was opened as the Down Lunatic Asylum in 1869.[1][2] It was extended in 1883, 1895 and 1904.[2] It became the Down Mental Hospital in the 1920s and joined the National Health Service as Downshire Hospital in 1948.[2] Following the introduction of Care in the Community in the early 1980s, the hospital went into a period of decline and provision for patients reduced from over 300 beds to just 16.[3] Part of the building was subsequently converted for use as offices for Down District Council who began operating there in October 2012.[4]
References
- ^ "Downshire Hospital". National Archives. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ a b c "Downshire Hospital". Historic Hospitals. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ "Unannounced Follow Up Inspection Report 19 – 21 July 2017" (PDF). RQIA. 21 July 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ "Down District Council moves to new £11m home". BBC. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
Further reading
- Kelly, Sean (2012). A Grand Old Lady. The Life And Times Of Downshire Hospital 1869-2011. South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust.