Royal South Hampshire Hospital

The Royal South Hants Hospital, known locally as "The RSH", is an acute hospital in Southampton. It has been managed by Southampton City Primary Care Trust since 31st March 2007 with some additional services being provided by the Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust. It was previously managed by Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust.

History
The hospital was founded as the Royal South Hampshire Infirmary in 1835, and relocated several times before settling at its current location on the border between the Bevois Valley and St Mary's areas of Southampton. The foundation stone was laid on 10th July 1843, and the hospital opened on its present site in 1844.

In 1851, donations from doctors Joseph and William Bullar funded additional wards for the hospital, named the Bullar Wards. The hospital obtained its current name in 1965 and was funded by public subscription as part of a wave of voluntary hospitals throughout the country.

The hospital chapel was built in 1857 and is now a grade II listed building.

In 1868 a new wing, named the Eyre Crabbe Wing and housing 36 beds, was erected. The Crabbe wards are located on the East side of the hospital campus. In 1896 another new wing, containing a further two wards, operating theatres, cottages to house patients with infectious diseases and a mortuary were added at a cost of £29,000. This new wing was opened on 7th February 1900 by Princess Henry of Battenburg.

With the formation of the National Health Service in 1948, the management of the RSH was transferred to the new public service.

In 1970, the Department of Psychiatry building, an inpatient psychiatric facility, was built along with residential accommodation for healthcare staff. In the same year, the Outpatients Centre building was opened, modelled on the Mayo Clinic in the USA. In 1971 the RSH housed 332 beds and treated 8,000 inpatients and 173,000 outpatients.

The chapel fell out of use in 1992. Management of the hospital came under Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust when the trust was formed in 1993.

Redevelopment as a community hospital
On 31st March 2007 the hospital was be transferred to Southampton City Primary Care Trust with several services transferring to Southampton General Hospital and the Princess Anne Hospital, and new services being opened on the RSH site.

Hepatology, gastroenterology and gastrointestinal outpatients and endoscopy services transferred to Southampton General Hospital, while the breast surgery, breast imaging and breast screening services moved to the Princess Anne. The genito-urinary medicine, diabetes screening and resource centre, chronic pain and elderly care outpatients services, non-specialist endoscopy, direct access therapies and interface outpatient clinics all remain at the RSH site, along with the restaurant and canteen (which will be refurbished), shop and coffee bar. New services being introduced on the RSH site include a new GP practice, three dental surgeries, Southampton's third walk-in centre, a new adult mental health unit (to be run by Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust) and an independent sector treatment centre to be operated by the Partnership Health Group. The primary care trust also plan to reopen the chapel.

The adult mental health unit is due to open in 2009/2010 and will house 50 acute beds and 12 psychiatric intensive care beds in a new £20 million building.