University Hospital of Wales
| University Hospital of Wales | |
|---|---|
| National Health Service | |
 |
|
| Geography | |
| Location | Heath, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Cardiff and Vale University Health Board |
| Hospital type | Teaching |
| Affiliated university | Cardiff University |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes Accident & Emergency |
| Helipad | Yes |
| Beds | 1000 |
| History | |
| Founded | 1971 |
| Links | |
| Website | cardiffandvaleuhb.wales.nhs.uk |
| Lists | Hospitals in Wales |
Coordinates: 51°30′25″N 3°11′24″W / 51.507°N 3.190°W
University Hospital of Wales (Welsh: Ysbyty Athrofaol Cymru) (UHW) is a major 1000-bed hospital in the Heath district of Cardiff, Wales. UHW is a teaching hospital of Cardiff University School of Medicine. Construction started in 1963 with the official opening in 1971. It was Europe's first fully integrated hospital and medical school at a cost of £22 million. The hospital is the third largest University Hospital in the UK and the largest hospital in Wales. The hospital was previously part of Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust. In 2009 the Trust was dissolved and the hospital is now operated by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
Planning for construction of the hospital first began in 1951. The land was provided by Cardiff Council who selected the site based on its accessibility from other parts of Wales as well as within Cardiff. The Welsh Board of Health and University Grants Committee outlined the criteria for an 820-bed hospital in 1953 and proposed a competition for architects to submit plans, although this was not sanctioned until 1958 due to "concerns over funding." The competition was launched in April 1959 and judged by Sir Percy Thomas (Past President of the Royal Institute of British Architects), J.H. Forshaw (FRIBA), F.R.S. Yorke (FRIBA), A. Trevor Jones (Provost of the Welsh National School of Medicine), and A.R. Culley (medical member of the Welsh Board of Health). Forty entries were submitted and the winning design was by Stanley Wayman Milburn (1887-1961), an architect with a special interest in schools and hospitals and who had previously designed 10 hospitals in the north east of England. The architecture of the hospital is "dominated by long, parallel slabs, one eight-storied, the other five-storied. The Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, completed in 1975, followed a similar design. Construction began in 1963 and the dental school opened to clinical students in 1965. Construction of the main hospital building began in 1966 and the topping out ceremony was conducted by G.R. Findlater on 4 July 1969, the eve of the 21st anniversary of the founding of the National Health Service. The hospital was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 19 November 1971.
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