Chester Hospitals in the early 1990's - a Snap Shot in time

Looking into the main entrance of the Countess of Chester Health Park the site the 1829 Building can be seen in the background.

2. 1829 Building
 

At the time the Induction Slide show was prepared the Mental Health Hospital had reduced the number of beds available from one of the largest in the UK (1600 beds) to 250 with the intention of reducing this to about 100 acute psychiatric beds in the short term. By the mid 1990's the vast majority of patients had been discharged into the community ("care in the community"). The 1829 Building had until "the early 1990's" been a ward and administration area. Now it is purely an administration area housing the Family Health Service Authority (FHSA)., Community Trust Administration and Ambulance Headquarters (applying for Trust status).

Finally at time the Induction Slide Show was put together it was noted that the existing Chester Health Authority was to move into the 1829 Building from their existing HQ at Lightfoot Street.
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3. Psychiatric Annexe Building
missing slide. This was built in 1914-1918 with its own recreation hall, wards and crèche.
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4. Psychiatric Administration Building & Head Quarters
 

The Psychiatric HQ building housed Psychiatric administration, Wages and Manpower, Travel Claims, Personnel Department and Training.

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5  Manor Hospital
 

At time of writing this was no longer under CHA control. It cared for mentally handicapped people with approx. 89 beds. It is understood that the McIntyre Charitable Voluntary Organization ran it once it ceased to be under Chester Health Authority control. The hospital was closed sometime in the 1990s and has since been turned into flats and executive homes built in the grounds. Also known as Sutton Hall?

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6  Chester City Hospital
A Miss Sheila Foley was the Unit General Manager of the Priority and Community Unit. A Regional Unit for Young Persons and a Drug and Alcohol Dependency Unit were also on site as well as a Occupational Health Department. Acute and Geriatric services - Chester City Hospital was given over to purely Geriatric care from 1983 until its closure. There were 163 beds for this purpose initially. Given the bed shortage problems of the 21st Century as demand increases and waiting time targets become shorter  it would be highly advantageous if these beds were still available.

The Geriatric Day Unit was also on the City site and had 26 places. Other departments on the City site included Xray, Physio, Occ Therapy, Medical Clinic Outpatients Dept, District Pharmacy and District Dietician. Mrs June Yale was the site manager for the City Hospital. At the time this induction show was put together it was noted that the City was scheduled for closure within two years and that two wards would be moved to the General Wing on the Countess of Chester Health Park with the rest going to nursing homes and to Ellesmere Port Hospital.

Before the City Hospital closed on the 21st April 1991 its final use was as a 52 bed Acute Geriatric Hospital on Ward 52, Ward 53 and GDU (note that the names of Ward 52 and 53 were transferred over the Countess of Chester Hospital). In 1982 the City was still a mixed general hospital with 261 beds. Then from 1983 Gynaecology transferred to Chester Royal Infirmary and General Medicine and Coronary Care Unit to the new General Wing of the Countess of Chester Hospital leaving 163 beds for the Geriatric at the City..
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7 City Hospital GDU
 

The Geriatric Day Unit was also on the City Hospital site and had 26 places. Priority Care Unit - now run down. Geriatric Rehabilitation was transferred to a private nursing home called the Pinetum (Bache Hall) on the edge of the Countess of Chester site.

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8 Public Health Laboratory Service, Hoole Lane, Chester
 

The Public Health Laboratory was built in in 1962 by the entrance to the City Hospital to be close to the Chester District Pathology Laboratory.

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9  Ellesmere Port Hospital
 

A 89 bed hospital designated as a primary care rehabilitation unit managed by the Priority & Community Care Unit together with a small Outpatient Clinic. It used to also have a  small injuries unit and Operating Theatre. Prior to 1982-83 it was a 24 bed cottage hospital with its own casualty and minor operations facility. In the mid 1990s there was a Physiotherapy Department, X-ray Department and Medical Records Department and a number of Outpatient Clinics were held. Whitby Group GP Practice, glimpsed through the trees on the right shares the land.

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10 Chester Royal Infirmary - view over site
 

Prior to 1983 it was a premier acute hospital with 217 beds, A&E, Outpatients Dept, ITU, Emergency and List Surgery, It has been expanded on a piece meal basis. From 1983 services have began migrating away from Chester Royal Infirmary toward the new General Wing on the Countess of Chester Site. The first to go over were child surgery, eyes, ITU and A&E. The Gynaecology transferred together with all list surgery. At that point the number of beds at the Infirmary fell to 126 and then down again to 70 beds. All inpatients beds were transferred by 1992 and then outpatients in 1993.

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11 Chester Royal Infirmary Outpatient Department
 

Chester Royal Infirmary Outpatients Department was opened in 1963 and within ten years had outgrown its capacity as the numbers of outpatient appointments continued on their seemingly endless upward trend. The building itself was spilt level and many felt it resembled a maze. The majority of outpatient appointments were held here whilst inpatient care increasingly transferred to the new General Wing on the Countess of Chester Site. Paediatrics were the exception - all their inpatient and outpatient work was carried out on the Countess of Chester site in the Maternity Wing.

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12 Chester Royal Infirmary Old Main Entrance
 

By the time the Chester Royal Infirmary reached the end of its life the front entrance, shown above, as originally intended when the building was first erected had become the back entrance.

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13 Leading to the Main Entrance at Chester Royal Infirmary
 

A view above leading to the main entrance at Chester Royal Infirmary via the one-way-system. The Nurses Home can be seen at the back.  To the left in the more modern looking building is St Martin's Clinic (was the Works Department). It was managed by the Community Trust.  It included the Orthoptic School - a Regional school at that time and an Xray Department that did work for GPs mainly as well as three operating theatres.

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14 Countess of Chester Hospital Maternity Building
The Maternity Wing, shown on the left, was opened in 1971 as the first of a two phase District General Hospital. The intention which has since become reality was to replace both the Chester Royal Infirmary and Chester City Hospital with a modern new facility located on the one site. The second phase was going to be a Tower Block but it was never given the go ahead. The original Maternity plan was for five wards but only four were built to accommodate 112 beds a birth rate of 4,000 per year. The number of beds was reduced to between 84 and 90 beds by the mid 1990's but with the same births per year - the length of stay reduced.
 

Maternity included an Ante natal Clinic, central Labour suite, Neonatal Unit and Special care Baby Unit. The tower Block was cancelled and the 5th Ward was used for administration and doctors on call rooms. In 1980 a Paediatric Medical Ward was established with a new road leading to its own entrance. It had 38 beds. Mothers were allowed to stay with their children. The School of Midwifery was located on the first floor of the building. For a another slide see 16 below.

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15 Countess of Chester Hospital General Wing
Now looking towards the new General Wing Accident & Emergency Entrance and the pyramid shaped services area above (for Estates services, plant etc.) with its common domestic and portering services. It was begun in 1977 as a new concept - a "nucleus" type of building - deliberately built to enable future expansion in three phases. There was standard design for everything. It was the first nucleus hospital to receive patients in Britain.

Phase 1 included HSDU, Physiotherapy, some Pathology and Outpatients together with 273 beds. In April 1991 a further two wards were opened and work began on Phase 2B - more beds -  to enable all inpatients to be transferred from Chester Royal Infirmary in 1992. Phase 2C led to further outpatients clinics being opened, a breast screening unit and a CAT Scanner was bought by public subscription. There is a central corridor above and below with a general crucifix design. It was the first nucleus to be built on green belt land. Planning .

Permission was granted in 1977 and the first sod was cut in 1978. The hospital was handed by the builders in 1982 and it was officially opened in January 1983 with 161 beds., By comparison the Maternity Wing took ten years to plan and by the time it was built was over capacity - too many beds. The new build also included an Accident & Emergency Department open round the clock. Phase 2A  once completed allowed the geriatric beds to be incorporated in November 1983 (112 more beds of which 94 were for Medicine and 18 for Eyes.. ITU and Day Surgery were also onsite as back up services) Mr Paul Barrow was the Unit General Manager
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16 Countess of Chester Hospital Maternity Wing
 

The above is a view of the Maternity Wing on the Countess of  Chester Health Park. This was the first building to be erected for what came ot be known in 1983 as the Countess of Chester Hospital.  The building itself is very different in design from the later main general wing of the hospital. It was intended to be a first phase of a bigger complex in the same style. This was never finished.

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17 Countess of Chester Hospital Phase 1 Build Main Entrance
 

The above view is looking across the Health Park to the entrance of the hospital following completion of the first phase of the new building. The hospital entrance is located where the entrance to the Accident & Emergency Department entrance is located today.  Virtually all the grassed area in the foreground had been built on by 2003.

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18 St Martin's House
 

St Martin's House was originally a local authority building that came into NHS use in 1974. At that time it was the Head Quarters of Chester Health Authority. When Chester Health Authority moved to a new building at Lightfoot Street it was used as a Clinic Health Centre, special hearing services, chiropody, an administration and clerical centre for community services. It was closed in the mid 1990s and in 2003 still stands empty.

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19 Great Sutton Health Centre
 

Great Sutton health centre near Ellesmere Port. It is used by Primary Care staff and GPs

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20 Chester Area Health Authority Head Quarters
Built in 1976 and located on Lightfoot Street this was built specially to house the Chester Area Health Authority. The District General Manager at the time was Pearce Butler.

Supplies, Salaries and Wages, Personnel and Treasury & Finance were originally housed there but were devolved to the acute unit and Salaries and Wages to the Priority Care Unit. The plan was to vacate and sell the building. (NHS Supplies moved in later to become known as PASA or Purchasing and Supplies Agency). The local Ambulance service for Cheshire < Clywd and Mersey also used space at Lightfoot Street HQ. It originally came under the control of the Health Authority in 1974. Before that date it was run by the local authority.

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