Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley

The Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH)[1] is the main hospital in Paisley serving a large catchment area stretching all the way to Oban and Argyll.[2] The hospital is managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Royal Alexandra Hospital
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Royal Alexandra Hospital in Craw Road
Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley is located in Renfrewshire
Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley
Shown in Renfrewshire
Geography
LocationPaisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland
Coordinates55°50′06″N 4°26′17″W / 55.835°N 4.438°W / 55.835; -4.438
Organisation
Care systemNHS Scotland
TypeGeneral Hospital
Affiliated universityUniversity of Glasgow
University of the West of Scotland
Services
Emergency departmentYes
Beds760
History
Opened1986
Links
Websitewww.nhsggc.org.uk/locations/hospitals/royal-alexandra-hospital/ Edit this at Wikidata
ListsHospitals in Scotland

History

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The old hospital at Calside

The hospital has its origins in a general dispensary in central Paisley which opened in 1786 and became a house of recovery in 1805.[3] A new facility financed by William Barbour and designed by Thomas Graham Abercrombie was completed at Calside in July 1896.[4]

In the early 1980s it was decided to create a modern hospital on the site of the old Riccartsbar Hospital in Craw Road and the new facility was officially opened by Princess Alexandra in May 1988.[5]

The hospital received patients from the 2007 Glasgow Airport attack, including one of the suspects who was taken to the hospital under arrest with severe burns. Parts of the hospital were later evacuated when a suspect device, originally believed to be a suicide belt, was discovered on the suspect.[6] On the afternoon of 1 July a controlled explosion of a car was carried out in the car park of the hospital.[7]

The children's ward at the hospital closed in February 2018.[8]

Services

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The hospital has 760 staffed beds.[9] It contains the only consultant-led maternity unit for the upper Clyde area, after the maternity wards at Inverclyde Royal Hospital and Vale of Leven Hospital became midwife-led in 2003.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) New Patient Pathway". www.nhsggc.org.uk. NHS Greaster Glasgow and Clyde. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley". NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  3. ^ "Alexandra Gate and former Royal Alexandra Infirmary, excluding later flat-roofed section to north, Neilston Road, Paisley". Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  4. ^ "Royal Alexandra Hospital". Historic Hospitals. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  5. ^ "A brief history". NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Blazing car crashes into airport". BBC News. 30 June 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  7. ^ "PM defiant over 'al-Qaeda threat'". BBC News. 1 July 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  8. ^ "Paisley children's ward closure goes ahead". BBC. 19 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
  9. ^ "Royal Alexandra Hospital". Healthcare Improvement Scotland. 4 September 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  10. ^ "Maternity unit shake-up unveiled". BBC News. 11 July 2003. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
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