Bristol General Hospital

Bristol General Hospital
University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust
Western view of BGH
Shown in Bristol
Geography
Location	Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Coordinates	51°26′47″N 2°35′34″W / 51.44647°N 2.59276°WCoordinates: 51°26′47″N 2°35′34″W / 51.44647°N 2.59276°W
Organisation
Care system	Public NHS
Hospital type	Specialized
Services
Emergency department	No Accident & Emergency
Beds	77
History
Founded	1832
Closed	4 April 2012
Links
Website	Trust page on United Hospitals Bristol site
Lists	Hospitals in England

Bristol General Hospital (sometimes referred to as BGH or Bristol General) was a rehabilitation hospital in Guinea Street, Harbourside, Bristol, in the south west of England. It opened in 1832, and closed in 2012. The BGH was part of the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UHBristol) which includes eight hospitals within Bristol. Since the sites closure, specialist heritage developers City & Country have acquired the site with planning approved to introduce a collection of 205 homes and commercial units. Works are currently underway at The General with residents already moved in to their completed apartments.

History

The hospital originally opened in 1832 taking only patients from the Bristol area, and expanding to outside Bristol in 1850. At the time of its closure, the hospital covered Bristol and North Somerset unitary authorities.^[1]

Archives

Records and plans of the Bristol General Hospital are held at Bristol Archives (Ref. 40530) (online catalogue) and (Ref. 44931) (online catalogue).

Services

Specific services include:^[2]

• Occupational Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Radiology
• Stroke Medicine

Inpatients

Inpatients had access to a restaurant, a hairdresser, and a daily trolley service selling confectionery and toiletries. Daily newspapers could also be delivered Monday to Friday.^[3]

Outpatients

The outpatient facilities included physiotherapy and day assessments for elderly people. The Sleep Unit Clinic and Sleep Studies department served a wider population in South West England.^[1]

Closure

The hospital closed on 4 April 2012. Some services moved to the Bristol Royal Infirmary (BRI), and others to the new South Bristol Community Hospital.^[4][5] In Autumn 2010 BNP Paribas Real Estate was instructed to sell the hospital site and marketing began on Friday 8 October.

Since the hospital's closure, the site has been acquired buy specialist heritage developers, City & Country. The development has since been recognised by the longest established new homes awards in the house-building industry, WhatHouse?, as the Winners of the Gold Award for Best Renovation.^[6] When complete, "The General", as it is now known, will be home to a collection of 205 one to four bedroom new and converted apartments and houses. At lower street level there will also be a collection of commercial properties which have been deliberately included within the masterplan to aid investment, economic growth and vitality within the immediate area.

In popular culture

In 2008, the hospital was used as the filming location for the BBC Three drama series Being Human, which was broadcast in early 2009.^[7]

See also

• List of hospitals in England

References

1. "Bristol General Hospital". University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. Archived from the original on 2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
2. "Bristol General Hospital - What We Do". University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
3. "Bristol General Hospital - Facilities". University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
4. "Bristol Royal Infirmary in line for £90 million makeover". Bristol Evening Post. 2008-12-10. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
5. "South Bristol Community Hospital/Bristol General Hospital" (MSWord). Bristol South and West NHS Primary Care Trust. Retrieved 2008-12-23.
6. "City & Country is awarded at the WhatHouse? Awards". www.whathouse.com. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
7. "Second bite for BBC's Being Human". BBC News. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 8 March 2009.