Musgrave Park Hospital

Not to be confused with Musgrove Park Hospital.

Musgrave Park Hospital is a specialist hospital in Belfast, 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 48 acres (19 ha) 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.

Musgrave Park Hospital
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
Entrance to the hospital (on the left)
Location in Northern Ireland
Geography
Location	Ballygammon, Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Coordinates	54°34′03″N 5°58′37″W / 54.56750°N 5.97694°W / 54.56750; -5.97694
Organisation
Care system	Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland
Type	Specialist
Affiliated university	Queen's University Belfast
Services
Speciality	Orthopaedics, Rheumatology, Acquired Brain Injury Unit, Sports Medicine
History
Opened	1920
Links
Website	www.belfasttrust.hscni.net/hospitals/MusgraveParkHospital.htm
Lists	Hospitals in Northern Ireland

History

See also: Musgrave Park Hospital bombing

The hospital opened in 1920.^[1] The United States Army constructed nissen huts on the site during the Second World War to create a temporary base for soldiers preparing to take part in the Normandy Landings.^[2]

The hospital has played its part in the history of The Troubles. On 15 December 1980, Sean McKenna, one of the original seven hunger strikers was moved to Musgrave Park Hospital.^[3]

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 Royal Army Medical Corps, named Phil Cross, the other Royal Corps of Transport, named Craig Pantry) and 11 other people were injured, among them a five-year-old girl and a baby of four months. The 20 lb (9.1 kg) of Semtex exploded in a service tunnel connecting the Withers block, containing orthopaedic and children's wards and the Military Wing.^[4] The dead and injured were watching a rugby match on television in the Military Wing's social club.^[1]

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.^[5]

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.^[6] The wards are named for Mr. J Withers, orthopaedic surgeon and one of the founders of the Northern Ireland Council for Orthopaedic Development.^[7]
• The Rheumatology Unit treats people with bone and joint disease. It is the leading centre for the treatment of rheumatic disease in Northern Ireland.^[8]
• The Diagnostic Imaging Services Unit offers a new (second) full-body MRI scanner which aims to scan an additional 5,500 patients each year.^[9]
• The Duke of Connaught Unit is a Medical Unit primarily serving military personnel based in Northern Ireland.^[1]

Rehabilitation

• Meadowlands is a rehabilitation unit which specialises in Care of Old People. It has a particular focus on the rehabilitation of patients following fractures.^[10]
• 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 rehabilitation physiotherapy services. Musgrave Park also boasts a custom hip-manufacturing unit on-site, one of only five such facilities in the world.^[6]
• The Acquired Brain Injury Unit was opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on 14 May 2006.^[11] 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. The centre is also surrounded by high quality landscaped gardens designed to play a role in healing and patient rehabilitation.^[12]

References

1. "Duke of Connaught Unit". Qaranc. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
2. Hedley-Whyte, John; Milamed, Debra R. (18 October 2015). "American Surgeons at Musgrave Park Hospital in World War II: Surgical Giants" (PDF). Ulster Medical Journal. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
3. "Chronology of the Conflict". CAIN. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
4. House of Commons Hansard Debates for 4 Nov 1991 6 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Injuries to brain to be treated at new centre". Belfast Telegraph. 12 May 2006. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
6. Musgrave Park Hospital 22 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine
7. James, W V (1984). "Orthopedics and the Northern Ireland Council for Orthopedic Development (NICOD)". Ulster Medical Journal. 53 (2): 111–116. PMC 2447956. PMID 6397895.
8. "Health Minister's visit to Rheumatology Unit at Musgrave Park Hospital". Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. 5 February 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
9. MITRE Trust 8 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
10. "Musgrave Park Hospital elderly ward to close as nurses 'redeployed to ease staff shortage'". Belfast Telegraph. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
11. . The Prince of Wales. Archived from the original on 7 March 2007. Retrieved 26 January 2007.
12. Musgrave Park Hospital Acquired Brain Injury Unit – Paving Case Studies 7 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Official website  
• Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority inspection reports