Prince of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital, Rhydlafar

Prince of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital
Shown in Cardiff
Geography
LocationCardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Coordinates51°30′47″N 3°16′51″W / 51.5131°N 3.2808°W / 51.5131; -3.2808
Organisation
Care systemPublic NHS
TypeSpecialist
Services
Emergency departmentNo Accident & Emergency
SpecialityOrthopaedic
History
Opened1914
Closed1998
Links
ListsHospitals in Wales

The Prince of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital (Welsh: Ysbyty Orthopedig Tywysog Cymru) was a specialist orthopaedic hospital in Rhydlafar, Cardiff, Wales.

History

The hospital was established in James Howell House, formerly a domestic house and lodging house in The Walk, Cardiff as the Wales and Monmouthshire Hospital for Limbless Sailors and Soldiers in 1914.[1] It was renamed the Prince of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital when it was officially opened by the Prince of Wales in 1918.[1] To mark the opening, a cromlech was erected in the front garden by Sir John Lynn-Thomas, a surgeon at the hospital.[2]

It moved to the partially derelict site of a former American military hospital at Rhydlafar in 1953.[3] In time, the hospital became a centre of excellence in the treatment of orthopaedic patients, and the National Blood Transfusion Service (Wales) relocated to the site in 1956.[4] In later years, students were sent to the hospital for their orthopaedic training.[1] However, the hospital was threatened with closure on a number of occasions and, after services had been transferred to other hospitals in the area, it finally closed in 1998.[1]

The site previously occupied by the hospital is now a housing development on a landscaped site with a children's playground.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "The Prince of Wales Hospital 1953 - 1998". Parc Rhydlafar. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
  2. ^ "James Howell House, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Walk, Cardiff (406994)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  3. ^ "Prince of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital" (PDF). Glamorgan Record Office. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Erection of transfusion centre at Rhydlafar hospital near Cardiff". National archives. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  5. ^ "Cardiff Community Boundary Review" (PDF). City of Cardiff Council. Retrieved 21 February 2019.

Further reading

  • Phelps, Robert (1993). The Prince & the Pioneers. The early work of the Prince of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital Cardiff. Cardiff: University Hospital of Wales and Cardiff Royal Group of Hospitals.