Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham
Encyclopedia
Selly Oak Hospital, in the Selly Oak
area of Birmingham
, England
, is one of two hospitals which form the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
, the other being the Queen Elizabeth Hospital
in Edgbaston
.
The rising costs of poor relief had become a national problem and the new act sought to address this. Throughout the country, parishes were formed into larger unions with the power to raise money from rates on property to pay for the poor. King’s Norton Poor Law Union was formed from the parishes of Harborne, Edgbaston, King’s Norton, Northfield and Beoley. Each of these five parishes had individual workhouses.
These were replaced in 1872 by the new, much larger one at Selly Oak. It was built to accommodate 200 pauper inmates. Central supervision by the Poor Law Commissioners in London ensured that all workhouses were administered similarly by a set of rules and regulations. How humanely these were interpreted depended entirely upon each local board of Poor Law Guardians, who were local worthies. They were elected annually and gave their services voluntarily.
The aim of the Poor Law Amendment Act was to deny any form of relief except through admission to the workhouse. Generally it was assumed that the able-bodied poor could find work and if they didn’t then they should be forced to work within the confines of the workhouse. It was thought that if conditions in the workhouse were really bad then the poor would be deterred from seeking relief. However, by the late 18th century it became apparent that the majority of workhouse inmates were the most vulnerable people in society; the young, the old, the chronic sick and the mentally ill. Various Acts of Parliament ruled that separate provision should be made for children and the mentally ill. The sick poor were to be accommodated in separate infirmary blocks. These were often built adjacent to the workhouses and were the forerunners of many great hospitals of today.
At Selly Oak, a separate infirmary was built in 1897 at a cost of £52,000. It was the subject of much heated debate as the original estimate had been £18,000. It was a light, clean and practical building, and generally a source of much pride. The Guardians took great care and gathered information from other infirmaries to ensure that the final design, put out to a competition and won by Mr. Daniel Arkell, was up-to-date and modern.
The Infirmary accommodated about 250 patients in eight Nightingale wards and smaller side wards and rooms. There was also provision for maternity cases. Between the two main pavilions were a central administration block, kitchens, a laundry, a water tower, doctors’ rooms and a telephone exchange. There was no operating theatre or mortuary and, in the workhouse tradition, the internal walls were not plastered, painted brick being considered good enough for the sick paupers. The workhouse and infirmary were separated by a high dividing wall and were run as separate establishments.
The population of the King’s Norton Union increased dramatically, and in 1907 extensions to the infirmary and the workhouse made provision for the growing numbers of poor people. This doubled the size of the main hospital building. The Woodlands Nurses’ Home was built at the same time to accommodate forty nurses. A small operating room was added to the infirmary.
There was a resident nursing staff of eight trained nurses and nineteen probationers who were supervised by the Matron. She also had responsibility for the resident female servants. The Steward managed the infirmary, governed the male servants, kept the accounts, ordered provisions, and recorded births and deaths. There was a Senior Medical Officer who attended three times a week between 11:00 and 13:00. A Resident Medical Officer attended at both the infirmary and the workhouse.
In 1911, King’s Norton – no longer a rural area – left Worcestershire and became part of the City of Birmingham. The Birmingham Union was formed from the unions of King’s Norton, Aston and Birmingham. The King’s Norton Workhouse Infirmary was renamed Selly Oak Hospital.
Over the next two decades facilities improved with the addition of an operating theatre, plastering of internal walls, and the introduction of physiotherapy, pathological and X-ray services. By 1929 there were seven full-time members of the medical staff, and the medical residence was built at this time.
Attitudes to the poor changed gradually and measures to relieve poverty, such as old age pensions and National Insurance, were introduced before the First World War. By 1930, the administrative structure of the Poor Law was finally dismantled. Selly Oak Hospital and the Workhouse, renamed Selly Oak House, came under the administration of Birmingham City Council. Selly Oak House was administered separately and used for the care of the elderly chronic sick.
Selly Oak Hospital continued to grow, new operating theatres were added in 1931, and the biochemistry and pathology laboratories opened in 1934. Nurses had been trained at Selly Oak since 1897, but it wasn’t until 1942 that the School of Nursing was opened.
In 1948, when the National Health Service was introduced, Selly Oak Hospital and Selly Oak House were amalgamated. Since then many changes to the site have resulted in the institution we see today.
. Relocation of the first services from Selly Oak began during the summer of 2010 when its A&E department moved to the new Q.E.Hospital
on 16 June and over the next 7 days Critical Care and other departments moved step-by-step the 1.5 miles to the new hospital. On average one inpatient was moved every 5 minutes between 7 am and early evening On the morning of 23 May 2010 a 'Service of Thanks' was held at Selly Oak Hospital to celebrate a century of caring and this was followed by a fun fair at which staff and patients were invited to "Take a Trip Down Memory Lane", sign a memory wall and contribute to an on-line memories website. The reorganisation was first planned in 1998 though it was not until October 2004 that planning approval was given by Birmingham City Council
, with construction beginning during 2006.
Selly Oak Hospital was well renowned for the trauma care it provided and had one of the best burns units in the country. It was also the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, which cares for injured service men and women from conflict zones, as well as training service medical staff in preparation for working in such areas. In March 2007, the Hospital was alleged to be not properly treating Iraq war veterans. The hospital has also appeared in national newspapers with stories of servicemen being verbally abused in the hospital by members of the public opposed to the war. There were also difficulties when Jeremy Clarkson
went to the hospital to give gifts to the wounded serviceman. A report published by the House of Commons
Defence Select Committee
blamed the allegations against the hospital on a smear campaign and praised the clinical care provided to military patients.
Now that it's Accident & Emergency department has closed, Selly Oak's landing facilities for the Midlands Air Ambulance are now rarely used and most injured service men and women from Afghanistan
are now treated at the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Selly Oak
Selly Oak is a residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The suburb is bordered by Bournbrook and Selly Park to the north-east, Edgbaston and Harborne to the north, Weoley Castle and Weoley Hill to the west, and Bournville to the south...
area of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, 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...
, is one of two hospitals which form the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust provides adult district general hospital services for South Birmingham as well as specialist treatments for the West Midlands.The trust comprises three hospitals on two sites, which are 1.5 miles apart...
, the other being the Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is an NHS hospital in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, situated very close to the University of Birmingham. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construct, opened in June 2010 replacing the previous Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Selly Oak Hospital...
in Edgbaston
Edgbaston
Edgbaston is an area in the city of Birmingham in England. It is also a formal district, managed by its own district committee. The constituency includes the smaller Edgbaston ward and the wards of Bartley Green, Harborne and Quinton....
.
History
The first buildings on the site of Selly Oak Hospital were those of the King’s Norton Union Workhouse. It was a place for the care of the poor and was one of many workhouses constructed throughout the country following the introduction of the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. This act replaced the earlier system of poor relief, dating from 1601.The rising costs of poor relief had become a national problem and the new act sought to address this. Throughout the country, parishes were formed into larger unions with the power to raise money from rates on property to pay for the poor. King’s Norton Poor Law Union was formed from the parishes of Harborne, Edgbaston, King’s Norton, Northfield and Beoley. Each of these five parishes had individual workhouses.
These were replaced in 1872 by the new, much larger one at Selly Oak. It was built to accommodate 200 pauper inmates. Central supervision by the Poor Law Commissioners in London ensured that all workhouses were administered similarly by a set of rules and regulations. How humanely these were interpreted depended entirely upon each local board of Poor Law Guardians, who were local worthies. They were elected annually and gave their services voluntarily.
The aim of the Poor Law Amendment Act was to deny any form of relief except through admission to the workhouse. Generally it was assumed that the able-bodied poor could find work and if they didn’t then they should be forced to work within the confines of the workhouse. It was thought that if conditions in the workhouse were really bad then the poor would be deterred from seeking relief. However, by the late 18th century it became apparent that the majority of workhouse inmates were the most vulnerable people in society; the young, the old, the chronic sick and the mentally ill. Various Acts of Parliament ruled that separate provision should be made for children and the mentally ill. The sick poor were to be accommodated in separate infirmary blocks. These were often built adjacent to the workhouses and were the forerunners of many great hospitals of today.
At Selly Oak, a separate infirmary was built in 1897 at a cost of £52,000. It was the subject of much heated debate as the original estimate had been £18,000. It was a light, clean and practical building, and generally a source of much pride. The Guardians took great care and gathered information from other infirmaries to ensure that the final design, put out to a competition and won by Mr. Daniel Arkell, was up-to-date and modern.
The Infirmary accommodated about 250 patients in eight Nightingale wards and smaller side wards and rooms. There was also provision for maternity cases. Between the two main pavilions were a central administration block, kitchens, a laundry, a water tower, doctors’ rooms and a telephone exchange. There was no operating theatre or mortuary and, in the workhouse tradition, the internal walls were not plastered, painted brick being considered good enough for the sick paupers. The workhouse and infirmary were separated by a high dividing wall and were run as separate establishments.
The population of the King’s Norton Union increased dramatically, and in 1907 extensions to the infirmary and the workhouse made provision for the growing numbers of poor people. This doubled the size of the main hospital building. The Woodlands Nurses’ Home was built at the same time to accommodate forty nurses. A small operating room was added to the infirmary.
There was a resident nursing staff of eight trained nurses and nineteen probationers who were supervised by the Matron. She also had responsibility for the resident female servants. The Steward managed the infirmary, governed the male servants, kept the accounts, ordered provisions, and recorded births and deaths. There was a Senior Medical Officer who attended three times a week between 11:00 and 13:00. A Resident Medical Officer attended at both the infirmary and the workhouse.
In 1911, King’s Norton – no longer a rural area – left Worcestershire and became part of the City of Birmingham. The Birmingham Union was formed from the unions of King’s Norton, Aston and Birmingham. The King’s Norton Workhouse Infirmary was renamed Selly Oak Hospital.
Over the next two decades facilities improved with the addition of an operating theatre, plastering of internal walls, and the introduction of physiotherapy, pathological and X-ray services. By 1929 there were seven full-time members of the medical staff, and the medical residence was built at this time.
Attitudes to the poor changed gradually and measures to relieve poverty, such as old age pensions and National Insurance, were introduced before the First World War. By 1930, the administrative structure of the Poor Law was finally dismantled. Selly Oak Hospital and the Workhouse, renamed Selly Oak House, came under the administration of Birmingham City Council. Selly Oak House was administered separately and used for the care of the elderly chronic sick.
Selly Oak Hospital continued to grow, new operating theatres were added in 1931, and the biochemistry and pathology laboratories opened in 1934. Nurses had been trained at Selly Oak since 1897, but it wasn’t until 1942 that the School of Nursing was opened.
In 1948, when the National Health Service was introduced, Selly Oak Hospital and Selly Oak House were amalgamated. Since then many changes to the site have resulted in the institution we see today.
Current developments
The hospital is set to close completely in 2012 upon completion of the new Queen Elizabeth HospitalQueen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is an NHS hospital in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, situated very close to the University of Birmingham. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construct, opened in June 2010 replacing the previous Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Selly Oak Hospital...
. Relocation of the first services from Selly Oak began during the summer of 2010 when its A&E department moved to the new Q.E.Hospital
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is an NHS hospital in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, situated very close to the University of Birmingham. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construct, opened in June 2010 replacing the previous Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Selly Oak Hospital...
on 16 June and over the next 7 days Critical Care and other departments moved step-by-step the 1.5 miles to the new hospital. On average one inpatient was moved every 5 minutes between 7 am and early evening On the morning of 23 May 2010 a 'Service of Thanks' was held at Selly Oak Hospital to celebrate a century of caring and this was followed by a fun fair at which staff and patients were invited to "Take a Trip Down Memory Lane", sign a memory wall and contribute to an on-line memories website. The reorganisation was first planned in 1998 though it was not until October 2004 that planning approval was given by Birmingham City Council
Birmingham City Council
The Birmingham City Council is the body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local authority in the United Kingdom with, following a reorganisation of boundaries in June 2004, 120 Birmingham...
, with construction beginning during 2006.
Selly Oak Hospital was well renowned for the trauma care it provided and had one of the best burns units in the country. It was also the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, which cares for injured service men and women from conflict zones, as well as training service medical staff in preparation for working in such areas. In March 2007, the Hospital was alleged to be not properly treating Iraq war veterans. The hospital has also appeared in national newspapers with stories of servicemen being verbally abused in the hospital by members of the public opposed to the war. There were also difficulties when Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
went to the hospital to give gifts to the wounded serviceman. A report published by the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
Defence Select Committee
Defence Select Committee
The Defence Select Committee is one of the Select Committees of the British House of Commons, having been established in 1979. It oversees the operations of the Ministry of Defence and its associated public bodies, including the armed forces.-Membership:...
blamed the allegations against the hospital on a smear campaign and praised the clinical care provided to military patients.
Now that it's Accident & Emergency department has closed, Selly Oak's landing facilities for the Midlands Air Ambulance are now rarely used and most injured service men and women from Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
are now treated at the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham is an NHS hospital in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham, situated very close to the University of Birmingham. The hospital, which cost £545 million to construct, opened in June 2010 replacing the previous Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Selly Oak Hospital...