Altnagelvin Area Hospital

Altnagelvin Area Hospital
Western Health and Social Care Trust
Geography
Location	Derry, Northern Ireland
Organisation
Care system	Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland
Type	District General Hospital
Affiliated university	Queen's University of Belfast National University of Ireland, Galway University of Ulster
Services
Emergency department	YES
Beds	500
History
Opened	1960
Links
Website	www.westerntrust.hscni.net/1516.htm

Altnagelvin Area Hospital is the main hospital for the North West of Northern Ireland. It provides services to the city of Derry as well as County Londonderry, but also some specialist and acute services for parts of neighbouring County Donegal, County Tyrone, County Antrim and County Fermanagh. It has 500 beds, employs over 2000 health care professionals, technical and support staff, and offers the most comprehensive medical services outside Belfast in Northern Ireland. Although, the population of the city of Derry itself is only in the region of 130,000, the Trust serves a population of over 275,000 people for some services, and nearly 400,000 for others (such as maxillofacial surgery).

Past and future

It was the first hospital built in the whole of the United Kingdom after the Second World War in 1960. It is situated in a picturesque part of Waterside area of Derry. The hospital tower itself consists of 11 floors, and is one of the tallest buildings in the city.

With the downgrading of services in Tyrone County Hospital in Omagh, and consolidation of health services in the region as a whole, it is anticipated that Altnagelvin will increasingly be serving as the regional hub in the provision of acute care for patients.

In early 2009, patients from the TCH could no longer access Acute facilities in Omagh, therefore they are now transferred by ambulance to Altnagelvin or Enniskillen for treatment. A Consultant-Led, Nurse-Delivered Care Cardiac Assessment Unit is based in Tyrone County Hospital and still provides prompt assessment and triage of people with potential active cardiac problems. A cardiac ambulance offering out of hospital resuscitation and thrombolysis is operated from this unit.

Controversy

In January 2011, it was revealed that 18,500 xrays taken in 2009 and 2010 in Altnagelvin's Medical Imaging Department had not been examined by a radiologist. As a result, four patients suffering from cancer had their diagnosis also delayed by several months.

In March 2011 a political row developed when Health Minister Michael McGimpsey announced the postponement of plans to develop a regional radiotherapy unit at the hospital.

Specialties represented

• Anaesthetics (Full range of anaesthetic services including intensive care facilities)
• Bacteriology
• Cardiology
• Care of the Elderly
• Clinical Chemistry
• Dermatology
• Diabetes and Endocrinology
• A & E
• ENT
• Gastroenterology
• General Surgery
• Haematology
• Neurology
• Obstetrics & Gynaecology
• Ophthalmic Surgery
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (Mouth, Jaws and Face Surgery)
• Orthodontics
• Orthopaedics
• Paediatrics
• Palliative Care
• Pathology
• Radiology
• Renal Medicine
• Respiratory
• Rheumatology
• Urology

Developments

South Wing

The hospital is currently undergoing expansion and development. The latest phase of expansion was launched in 2004, and expected to cost over £100 a million over a period of 10 years. Recent developments has included the establishment of an outpatients renal hemodialysis unit in 2005, and the opening of a new laboratory and pharmaceuticals facility in 2007.

University affiliations

The hospital is a teaching hospital, and has research and teaching links with the University of Ulster, Queen's University of Belfast and the National University of Ireland, Galway. In particular, it is in a unique position of being the only hospital in either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland to have a consistent tradition of accepting medical students on ward-based attachments from universities from both sides of the border.