Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases
Encyclopedia
The Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS hospital trust
of the National Health Service
in England
. It is a small, specialist Trust in the centre of Bath.
It was founded in 1738 as The Mineral Water Hospital, and is still known locally as "The Min"; it is also signed locally as the RNHRD. Then, it provided care for the impoverished sick who were attracted to Bath because of the supposed healing properties of the mineral water
from the spa. The original building was designed by John Wood the Elder and built with Bath stone
donated by Ralph Allen
. It was later enlarged, firstly in 1793 by the addition of an attic storey and later in 1860 by a second building erected on the west side of the earlier edifice. It is a Grade II listed building. There is a fine pediment
, in Bath stone, on the 1860 building depicting the parable of the good Samaritan. The hospital possesses a number of interesting oil paintings, in particular a picture of Dr Oliver and Mr Peirce examining three patients in 1741.
In 1978 the hospital was the third from last of the English hydropathic hospitals to cease offering hydropathy.
In 1993, it became an NHS Foundation Trust
, specialising in Rheumatic Disease
and Rehabilitation
, which received a 3 star rating in 2005.
The Hospital provides local Rheumatology
services, and also has specialist clinics and services which attract referrals from a national population. Specialist rheumatology clinics include connective tissue disease
, ankylosing spondylitis
, osteoporosis
, and Pagets Disease
. The hospital has a large brain injury
rehabilitation service with separate units for adults, adolescents and children. It also houses the Bath Centre for Pain Services, which provides psychologically focused treatment for adults, young people and children with chronic pain and is the base for both adult and paediatric services for chronic fatigue syndrome
; it hosts the largest regional clinical paediatric team for chronic fatigue syndrome in the UK.
NHS Hospital Trust
An NHS hospital trust, also known as an acute trust is an NHS trust that provides secondary health services within the English National Health Service and in NHS Wales. Hospital trusts are commissioned to provide these services by NHS primary care trusts....
of the National Health Service
National 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...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is a small, specialist Trust in the centre of Bath.
It was founded in 1738 as The Mineral Water Hospital, and is still known locally as "The Min"; it is also signed locally as the RNHRD. Then, it provided care for the impoverished sick who were attracted to Bath because of the supposed healing properties of the mineral water
Mineral water
Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...
from the spa. The original building was designed by John Wood the Elder and built with Bath stone
Bath Stone
Bath Stone is an Oolitic Limestone comprising granular fragments of calcium carbonate. Originally obtained from the Combe Down and Bathampton Down Mines under Combe Down, Somerset, England, its warm, honey colouring gives the World Heritage City of Bath, England its distinctive appearance...
donated by Ralph Allen
Ralph Allen
Ralph Allen was an entrepreneur and philanthropist, and was notable for his reforms to the British postal system. He was baptised at St Columb Major, Cornwall on 24 July 1693. As a teenager he worked at the Post Office. He moved in 1710 to Bath, where he became a post office clerk, and at the age...
. It was later enlarged, firstly in 1793 by the addition of an attic storey and later in 1860 by a second building erected on the west side of the earlier edifice. It is a Grade II listed building. There is a fine pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
, in Bath stone, on the 1860 building depicting the parable of the good Samaritan. The hospital possesses a number of interesting oil paintings, in particular a picture of Dr Oliver and Mr Peirce examining three patients in 1741.
In 1978 the hospital was the third from last of the English hydropathic hospitals to cease offering hydropathy.
In 1993, it became an NHS Foundation Trust
NHS Foundation Trust
An NHS foundation trust is part of the National Health Service in England and has gained a degree of independence from the Department of Health and local NHS strategic health authority.Foundation Trusts are represented by the , .-Function:...
, specialising in Rheumatic Disease
Rheumatology
Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...
and Rehabilitation
Physical medicine and rehabilitation
Physical medicine and rehabilitation , physiatry or rehabilitation medicine, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. A physician having completed training in this field is referred to as a...
, which received a 3 star rating in 2005.
The Hospital provides local Rheumatology
Rheumatology
Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...
services, and also has specialist clinics and services which attract referrals from a national population. Specialist rheumatology clinics include connective tissue disease
Connective tissue disease
A connective tissue disease is any disease that has the connective tissues of the body as a target of pathology. Connective tissue is any type of biological tissue with an extensive extracellular matrix that supports, binds together, and protects organs...
, ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Ankylosing spondylitis , previously known as Bekhterev's disease, Bekhterev syndrome, and Marie-Strümpell disease is a chronic inflammatory disease of the axial skeleton with variable involvement of peripheral joints and nonarticular structures...
, osteoporosis
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is deteriorating, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone is altered...
, and Pagets Disease
Paget's disease of bone
Paget's disease is a chronic disorder that can result in enlarged and misshapen bones. The excessive breakdown and formation of bone tissue causes affected bone to weaken, resulting in pain, misshapen bones, fractures, and arthritis in the joints near the affected bones...
. The hospital has a large brain injury
Acquired brain injury
An acquired brain injury is brain damage caused by events after birth, rather than as part of a genetic or congenital disorder such as fetal alcohol syndrome, perinatal illness or perinatal hypoxia. ABI can result in cognitive, physical, emotional, or behavioural impairments that lead to permanent...
rehabilitation service with separate units for adults, adolescents and children. It also houses the Bath Centre for Pain Services, which provides psychologically focused treatment for adults, young people and children with chronic pain and is the base for both adult and paediatric services for chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is the most common name used to designate a significantly debilitating medical disorder or group of disorders generally defined by persistent fatigue accompanied by other specific symptoms for a minimum of six months, not due to ongoing exertion, not substantially...
; it hosts the largest regional clinical paediatric team for chronic fatigue syndrome in the UK.