Luton and Dunstable University Hospital | |
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Geography | |
Location | Luton, United Kingdom |
Organisation | |
Care system | National Health Service |
Hospital type | General |
Affiliated university | University College London |
Services | |
Emergency department | Yes Accident & Emergency |
Beds | 650 |
History | |
Founded | 1939 |
Links | |
Website | www |
Lists | Hospitals in the United Kingdom |
Coordinates: 51°53′38″N 0°28′26″W / 51.894°N 0.474°W
The Luton and Dunstable University Hospital is an acute hospital run by the Luton and Dunstable University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. It provides medical and surgical services for over 350,000 people in Bedfordshire, the north of Hertfordshire and parts of Buckinghamshire. The hospital is often abbreviated to the 'L&D', and employs 3,400 staff.
The first hospital opened in 1872 and was a modest cottage hospital which then became the Bute Hospital which opened in 1882, built on land donated by the Marquis of Bute. In 1902 the site was enlarged to a 40-bed establishment but a few years later there was insufficient space for expansion so it was decided to build another hospital. Ten acres of land, situated in the English countryside between Luton and Dunstable were purchased from Electrolux and a new hospital was built. The hospital was opened by Queen Mary on 14 February 1939.
Luton and Dunstable has been a Safer Patient Initiative site since 2004. Reducing the hospital's mortality rate was a priority for Chief Executive Stephen Ramsden, who believes that saving patient lives must be at the top of all chief executives' agendas.