Military Hospital W
Workers broke ground on the hospital in 1953. The building work was completed in a little over 100 days and it opened in November the same year by the wife of the then Commander in Chief of the 2nd Tactical Air Force.
The hospital was quite unique in the way it was laid out. With an inner and outer U-shaped ring of buildings, the outer were single storey whilst the inner U-shaped ring was two-stories high. The single storey ring was comprised of mainly wards, outpatients and clinical areas, whilst the two storey structure contained the administrative and support services along with a central kitchen. Radial and spoke corridors were used to connect the two structures.
This functioned as a hospital for the British military personnel, civilian support staff, and their families, from all services of British Forces in Europe. During a 12 month period, the hospital maternity ward could deliver around 1,000 babies, while wards could look after around 6,000 patients a year, and it could also support approximately 32,000 out patients during the peak of its activity. The Gulf War seriously strained the staffing levels of the hospital as hospital staff were detached to serve in country during the conflict. This the hospital to recruit civilian nurses and staff to fill the void. Eventually all the detached members returned from the gulf, without loss of life.
Hospital services were disrupted when a gas cylinder explosion caused extensive damage in 1980. By 1987, the hospital closed to all except emergency admissions when freezing winter temperatures burst the water pipes. 1987 also saw a fire, accidently caused by workmen, seriously damage the roof of the postnatal ward.
1992 saw the start of cost cutting measure due to the UK Economy, the number of beds being reduced from 170 to around 90, and the closure of the paediatric and special care baby units followed in 1992. Services at the hospital were further reduced in 1993, as the medical, surgical wards and the maternity unit closed. Full closure of the hospital followed in 1996 when the hospital was handed over to the local authorities.
Workers broke ground on the hospital in 1953. The building work was completed in a little over 100 days and it opened in November the same year by the wife of the then Commander in Chief of the 2nd Tactical Air Force.
The hospital was quite unique in the way it was laid out. With an inner and outer U-shaped ring of buildings, the outer were single storey whilst the inner U-shaped ring was two-stories high. The single storey ring was comprised of mainly wards, outpatients and clinical areas, whilst the two storey structure contained the administrative and support services along with a central kitchen. Radial and spoke corridors were used to connect the two structures.
This functioned as a hospital for the British military personnel, civilian support staff, and their families, from all services of British Forces in Europe. During a 12 month period, the hospital maternity ward could deliver around 1,000 babies, while wards could look after around 6,000 patients a year, and it could also support approximately 32,000 out patients during the peak of its activity. The Gulf War seriously strained the staffing levels of the hospital as hospital staff were detached to serve in country during the conflict. This the hospital to recruit civilian nurses and staff to fill the void. Eventually all the detached members returned from the gulf, without loss of life.
Hospital services were disrupted when a gas cylinder explosion caused extensive damage in 1980. By 1987, the hospital closed to all except emergency admissions when freezing winter temperatures burst the water pipes. 1987 also saw a fire, accidently caused by workmen, seriously damage the roof of the postnatal ward.
1992 saw the start of cost cutting measure due to the UK Economy, the number of beds being reduced from 170 to around 90, and the closure of the paediatric and special care baby units followed in 1992. Services at the hospital were further reduced in 1993, as the medical, surgical wards and the maternity unit closed. Full closure of the hospital followed in 1996 when the hospital was handed over to the local authorities.
