Russells Hall Hospital
Encyclopedia
Russells Hall Hospital is an NHS-owned
hospital located in Dudley
, West Midlands
, England
.
It is situated on the A4101 main road which connects Dudley with Kingswinford
, and lies narrowly within Dudley's boundaries just outside Brierley Hill
. The hospital was built in 1976 as a modern "super hospital", but a shortage of equipment meant that it did not open until 1983.
In 1992, plans were unveiled for Russells Hall to be expanded as part of plans to close Wordsley and Dudley Guest hospitals, as well as parts of the Corbett Hospital. There was much protest against this, and over the next few years there were several amendments to the proposals - including a move which would have seen Wordsley Hospital keep its maternity services but for all other services to relocate to Russells Hall.
In April 1998, however, it was decided that Wordsley Hospital would close completely and Corbett and Dudley Guest would be downsized to out-patient services only, with Russells Hall being expanded to include all of the borough's in-patient services. The first phases of the work were completed in 2004 and the expansion was completed during 2005, by which time Russells Hall had doubled in size. Much of the existing hospital was also refurbished. The Princess Royal
opened the revamped hospital on 22 February 2006 – 22 years after she had opened the original hospital.
In preparation for the completion of the expanded hospital and inevitable rise in traffic, the main road towards Dudley town centre - Kingswinford Road - was widened into a dual carriageway in 2003. The car park was also expanded around the same time - a move which saw several houses along High Street demolished in 1999.
Cricketer Ian Botham
, famous for his charity work, opened a state of the art leukaemia unit at the hospital in 1998.
Pop star and actor Martin Kemp opened the hospital's new CT scanning suite in January 2006, a decade after he recovered from brain cancer with the help of pioneering treatment.
The hospital now has its own bus station, which gives a direct bus link to the townships of Dudley, Brierley Hill, Kingswinford
, Stourbridge
, Tipton
, Wednesbury
and Walsall
.
National 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...
hospital located in Dudley
Dudley
Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...
, West Midlands
West Midlands (county)
The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. 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 is situated on the A4101 main road which connects Dudley with Kingswinford
Kingswinford
Kingswinford is a suburban area in the West Midlands.Historically within Staffordshire, the area is mentioned in the Domesday Book its name relates to a ford for the King's swine - Latin Swinford Regis. The current significance is probably in tourism, education and housing...
, and lies narrowly within Dudley's boundaries just outside Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill
Brierley Hill is a town and electoral ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, West Midlands, England. It is one of the larger Black Country towns with a population of 9,631 and is heavily industrialised, best known for glass and steel manufacturing, although the industry has declined...
. The hospital was built in 1976 as a modern "super hospital", but a shortage of equipment meant that it did not open until 1983.
In 1992, plans were unveiled for Russells Hall to be expanded as part of plans to close Wordsley and Dudley Guest hospitals, as well as parts of the Corbett Hospital. There was much protest against this, and over the next few years there were several amendments to the proposals - including a move which would have seen Wordsley Hospital keep its maternity services but for all other services to relocate to Russells Hall.
In April 1998, however, it was decided that Wordsley Hospital would close completely and Corbett and Dudley Guest would be downsized to out-patient services only, with Russells Hall being expanded to include all of the borough's in-patient services. The first phases of the work were completed in 2004 and the expansion was completed during 2005, by which time Russells Hall had doubled in size. Much of the existing hospital was also refurbished. The Princess Royal
Anne, Princess Royal
Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
opened the revamped hospital on 22 February 2006 – 22 years after she had opened the original hospital.
In preparation for the completion of the expanded hospital and inevitable rise in traffic, the main road towards Dudley town centre - Kingswinford Road - was widened into a dual carriageway in 2003. The car park was also expanded around the same time - a move which saw several houses along High Street demolished in 1999.
Cricketer Ian Botham
Ian Botham
Sir Ian Terence Botham OBE is a former England Test cricketer and Test team captain, and current cricket commentator. He was a genuine all-rounder with 14 centuries and 383 wickets in Test cricket, and remains well-known by his nickname "Beefy"...
, famous for his charity work, opened a state of the art leukaemia unit at the hospital in 1998.
Pop star and actor Martin Kemp opened the hospital's new CT scanning suite in January 2006, a decade after he recovered from brain cancer with the help of pioneering treatment.
The hospital now has its own bus station, which gives a direct bus link to the townships of Dudley, Brierley Hill, Kingswinford
Kingswinford
Kingswinford is a suburban area in the West Midlands.Historically within Staffordshire, the area is mentioned in the Domesday Book its name relates to a ford for the King's swine - Latin Swinford Regis. The current significance is probably in tourism, education and housing...
, Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
, Tipton
Tipton
Tipton is a town in the Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, England, with a population of around 47,000. Tipton is located about halfway between Birmingham and Wolverhampton. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is a part of the Black Country....
, Wednesbury
Wednesbury
Wednesbury is a market town in England's Black Country, part of the Sandwell metropolitan borough in West Midlands, near the source of the River Tame. Similarly to the word Wednesday, it is pronounced .-Pre-Medieval and Medieval times:...
and Walsall
Walsall
Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...
.