Furness General Hospital
Encyclopedia
Furness General Hospital (FGH) is a hospital located in the Hawcoat
area of Barrow-in-Furness
, Cumbria
, England.
and part of the branch, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay. FGH is the second largest hospital in the South Cumbria
/ North Lancashire
region. The hospital has an emergency department
, oncology unit
, critical care unit, maternity and special care baby unit
, numerous outpatient services and is also home to the Dane Garth Mental Health Unit. The majority of people rescued from accidents in the Lake District Mountains
come to FGH. The more serious cases, including life threatening injuries, are usually transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital
.
and Westmorland General Hospital
in Kendal
. It boasts the most advanced hospital radio studios in the North West England
.
. In terms or waiting times at FGH, 93% of patients are treated within an 18 week period. The MRSA
blood infection rate at the hospital is extremely low with only 0.8 infections for every 10,000 bed days. The mortality ratio
at FGH is 100.3 (which is on par with national average). Overall the hospital has been rated 'fair' although the food provided has been rated 'excellent' and the quality of the hospital environment, 'good' (81% of people who have rated FGH on the NHS official website would recommend to a friend).
Hawcoat
Hawcoat is a ward of the UK town Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, North West England.The ward is one of the few places in Barrow that has been permanently inhabited since the middle ages; Hawcoat was named and identified as Hietun in the Domesday Book. It is the most northerly ward in Barrow and in 2001...
area of Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness
Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
, England.
Description and departments
Opened on 14 October 1984 (replacing four local hospitals; Devonshire Road Hospital, North Lonsdale Hospital, Risedale Maternity Hospital and Roose Hospital), it is owned and operated by the British National Health ServiceNational Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
and part of the branch, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay. FGH is the second largest hospital in the South Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria , is a non-metropolitan county in North West England. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local authority, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumbria's largest settlement and county town is Carlisle. It consists of six districts, and in...
/ North Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
region. The hospital has an emergency department
Emergency department
An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...
, oncology unit
Oncology
Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...
, critical care unit, maternity and special care baby unit
Obstetrics
Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
, numerous outpatient services and is also home to the Dane Garth Mental Health Unit. The majority of people rescued from accidents in the Lake District Mountains
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
come to FGH. The more serious cases, including life threatening injuries, are usually transferred to the Royal Preston Hospital
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the United Kingdom's thirty-two NHS Foundation Trusts. It provides healthcare for people in the Preston area and surrounding area in northwest England...
.
Hospital radio station
Bay Trust Radio broadcasts to FGH aswell as the Royal Lancaster InfirmaryLancaster, Lancashire
Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...
and Westmorland General Hospital
Westmorland General Hospital
- Hospital Radio Station :Bay Trust Radio broadcasts to Kendal, Lancaster and Barrow-in-Furness . It boasts the most advanced Hospital Radio Studios in the North West.- External links :*...
in Kendal
Kendal
Kendal, anciently known as Kirkby in Kendal or Kirkby Kendal, is a market town and civil parish within the South Lakeland District of Cumbria, England...
. It boasts the most advanced hospital radio studios in the North West England
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
.
Statistics
An average of between 1,200 and 1,300 babies are delivered in FGH every year, this is one of the lowest figures of any general hospital in North West EnglandNorth West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
. In terms or waiting times at FGH, 93% of patients are treated within an 18 week period. The MRSA
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. It is also called multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus...
blood infection rate at the hospital is extremely low with only 0.8 infections for every 10,000 bed days. The mortality ratio
Standardized mortality ratio
The standardized mortality ratio or SMR in epidemiology is the ratio of observed deaths to expected deaths, where expected deaths are calculated for a typical area with the same age and gender mix by looking at the death rates for different ages and genders in the larger population.The SMR may be...
at FGH is 100.3 (which is on par with national average). Overall the hospital has been rated 'fair' although the food provided has been rated 'excellent' and the quality of the hospital environment, 'good' (81% of people who have rated FGH on the NHS official website would recommend to a friend).
Notable incidents
- One of the world's worst legionnaires' disease outbreaks2002 Barrow-in-Furness Legionnaires' disease outbreakThe 2002 Barrow-in-Furness Legionnaires' disease outbreak was a fatal outbreak of Legionellosis which occurred in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England it was and still remains the second worst outbreak of its kind in the country's history.-History:...
occurred in Barrow in October 2002. Ultimately 7 people died as a result of contracting the disease, while a further 172 cases were confirmed at FGH. - A number of injured passengers involved in the February 2007 Grayrigg train derailmentGrayrigg derailmentThe Grayrigg derailment was a fatal railway accident that occurred at approximately 20:15 GMT on 23 February 2007, just to the south of Grayrigg, Cumbria, in North West England. The initial conclusion of the accident investigation is that the derailment was caused by a faulty set of points ,...
were brought to the hospital. - FGH is home to the laboratoryLaboratoryA laboratory is a facility that provides controlled conditions in which scientific research, experiments, and measurement may be performed. The title of laboratory is also used for certain other facilities where the processes or equipment used are similar to those in scientific laboratories...
where a DNADNADeoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
test was conducted on the body recovered from the infamous Bluebird K7Bluebird K7Bluebird K7 was a turbo jet-engined hydroplane with which the United Kingdom's Donald Campbell set seven world water speed records during the 1950s and 1960s. Campbell lost his life in K7 on January 4, 1967 whilst making a bid to raise the speed record to over on Coniston Water.-Design:Donald...
crash which turned out to be Donald CampbellDonald CampbellDonald Malcolm Campbell, CBE was a British speed record breaker who broke eight world speed records in the 1950s and 1960s...
. - The body of Derrick Bird who killed 12 people in the 2010 Cumbria shootingsCumbria shootingsThe Cumbria shootings was a killing spree that occurred on 2 June 2010 when a lone gunman, Derrick Bird, killed 12 people and injured 11 others before killing himself in Cumbria, England....
was formally identified at FGH. However, unlike West Cumberland HospitalWest Cumberland HospitalWest Cumberland Hospital is a hospital in Hensingham, a suburb of Whitehaven in Cumbria.Under the management of the North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, together with the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle, they serve 34,000 residents in north Cumbria....
and the Cumberland InfirmaryCumberland InfirmaryCumberland Infirmary is a hospital in Carlisle, Cumbria England.Under the management of the North Cumbria University Hospitals NHS Trust, together with the West Cumberland Hospital in Hensingham, Whitehaven, they serve 34,000 residents in north Cumbria....
, FGH was not on high alert during the shooting spree itself.
2011 maternity ward deaths investigation
See also
- Barrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-FurnessBarrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...
- General HospitalGeneral HospitalGeneral Hospital is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running American soap opera currently in production and the third longest running drama in television in American history after Guiding Light and As the World Turns....
- National Health ServiceNational Health Service (England)The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...