The Royal Oldham Hospital is a NHS

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...

 hospital

Hospital

A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....

 in Oldham

Oldham

Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...

, Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...

, 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 forms part of Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust

Pennine Care NHS Trust is a NHS Trust established in April 2002 and became the 100th trust to be awarded Foundation status in July 2008.The Trust provides community and mental health services in Bury, Oldham and the Rochdale borough, as well as mental health services in Stockport and Tameside and...

 and was opened with its present name on 1 December 1989. Its services are commissioned by NHS Oldham.

Formerly known as Oldham District and General, the hospital, which lies within the Coldhurst

Coldhurst

Coldhurst is an area of Oldham and an electoral ward of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. At the time of the United Kingdom Census 2001, it had a population of 11,935...

 area of Oldham on the boundary with Royton

Royton

Royton is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies by the source of the River Irk, on undulating land at the foothills of the Pennines, north-northwest of Oldham, south-southeast of Rochdale and northeast of the city of Manchester.Historically a...

. It was the birthplace of Louise Brown

Louise Brown

Louise Joy Brown is the first person to be conceived by in vitro fertilization, or IVF.-Birth:...

, the world's first successful in vitro fertilised "test tube baby"

In vitro fertilisation

In vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed...

, on 25 July 1978.

History

The Royal Oldham Hospital is formed by a collection of buildings built in succession since 1851 along Rochdale Road. Its earliest parts exist from the site's time as a local workhouse

Workhouse

In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...

, having been named Oldham Union Workhouse; Oldham's main hospital was then on the current site of Oldham Sixth Form College

Oldham Sixth Form College

Oldham Sixth Form College is a government-funded college of further education in Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. Opened in 1992 as a specialist centre for advanced-level study, the Principal of the college is Jayne Clarke....

.

Former names

The former names of the Royal Oldham Hospital are:

• Oldham Union Workhouse (1851–1913)
• Westwood Park Poor Law Institution (1913–1930)
• Boundary Park Hospital (1930–ca. 1938)
• Oldham Municipal Hospital (ca. 1938–1942)
• Boundary Park General Hospital (1943–1947)
• Boundary Park Municipal Hospital (1948–1949)
• Boundary Park General Hospital (1950–1955)
• Oldham and District General Hospital (1955–1989)