Ealing Hospital NHS Trust

Ealing Hospital, officially called Ealing Hospital NHS Trust, is a general NHS hospital in the Southall district of the London Borough of Ealing, Greater London (Middlesex), England. It lies on the south side of the Uxbridge Road 8.5 miles west of central London. It sits between Southall town to the west and Hanwell to the east. It is built on land that was once part of Hanwell Asylum, now St. Bernard's Hospital which is run by West London Mental Health (NHS) Trust.

The population of the hospital's catchment area is over 300,000. The general hospital has around 358 beds, and employs about 1,620 staff. It operates under the remit of the London Strategic Health Authority as part of the UK National Health Service.

History
Ealing Dispensary (1869 - 1871) Ealing Cottage Hospital and Provident Dispensary (1871 - 1911)

King Edward Memorial Hospital and Provident Hospital (1911 - 1948)

King Edward Memorial Hospital (1948 - 1978)

Ealing District General Unit (1979 – 1992) Ealing Hospital (NHS) Trust (1992 to present)

The present Ealing District Hospital was built in the late 1970s and opened 5 November 1979. Occupying part of St. Bernard's Hospital former grounds, the whole complex  was renamed Ealing Hospital and was administered as one organisation. With countless changes in government policy it has now split off again. It exists as an independent trust (since 1992), with St. Bernard's Hospital now run by West London Mental Health (NHS) Trust which is still the largest - in both directorship and turnover and beds.

History of Maternity Unit
The original NHS provision for births was Perivale Maternity Hospital, Greenford. With a total of 67 beds and ten cots in a special care baby unit, Ealing residents 'chose' to have 33.5% of their births here at a rate of 1,800 per annum. (Queen Charlotte's Hospital came second with 23.5%). Various working committees agreed that for various reasons it would be better to move the facilities at Perivale to a new maternity unit located on the same site as Ealing General. Thus, on 1 March 1985 a proposal was submitted outlining a number of options together with assessments of relative costs and benefits. The aim was for a 60 beds unit to be able to reach 2,500 deliveries per annum. The new Ealing Maternity Unit opened in March 1988 on the south-west corner of Ealing General. It is built on three levels and has two internal entrances granting direct accesses to the  General wing. It underwent major refurbishment in 1996. The Unit now has 40 beds on the postnatal/antenatal wards. Labour Ward has 8 delivery rooms. Close by are 3 midwife delivery rooms. The Special Care Baby Unit has 15 cots and 5 mothers' beds. It is continuously at full capacity at about 2,800 deliveries per year.

Application for Foundation Trust status
With the issue of yet a new government policy, Ealing Hospital (NHS) Trust has met the minimum requirements laid down and so has been allowed by the Government to apply for Foundation Trust status. Whilst some feel this is the way forwards others think not.

Directorates

 * Corporate
 * Medicine and Accident & Emergency
 * Surgery and critical care
 * Women's and children's health

Partnerships
The hospital maintains an academic partnership with Hammersmith Hospital (NHS) Trust and Moorfields Eye Hospital (NHS) Foundation Trust. On the same grounds is the Moorfields Eye Hospital Unit which serves as the local opthamic service.