Monklands Hospital

Monklands Hospital
NHS Lanarkshire
Monklands Hospital showing the A+E unit.
Geography
Location	Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland
Organisation
Care system	NHS
Hospital type	District General
Services
Emergency department	Yes
Beds	535
History
Founded	1977
Links
Website	http://www.nhslanarkshire.co.uk/Hospitals/Monklands/Pages/default.aspx
Lists	Hospitals in Scotland

Monklands District General Hospital, is a district general hospital in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.^[1] Administered by NHS Lanarkshire,^[1] it serves a population of approximately 260,000 people of North and South Lanarkshire council areas.^[2] In 2009 there were proposals ^[3] to downgrade the accident and emergency A&E department which were reversed by the newly elected Scottish Government.

History

In 1887 Sir John Wilson Bt JP - a late 19th-century businessman and local politician - bought the Airdrie House estate. Upon his death, he bequeathed the land to the people of Airdrie and it became the local maternity hospital (Airdrie House Maternity Home Hospital^[4]) in 1919. This closed in 1962 and was demolished in 1964 to make way for the current Monklands District General Hospital.^[5] Monklands was the first new hospital, that is, one which did not provide new accommodation for an existing hospital to be built in Scotland in the post World War II era. Planned to be known as 'Airdrie District General Hospital',^[6] it was renamed with the introduction of local council reorganisation, to Monklands District General Hospital. The first patients were admitted in 1977, however, some hospital departments were open in 1974 including the College of Nursing.

Airdrie House, c.1900

NHS Lanarkshire and the Monklands catchment

NHS Lanarkshire is responsible for the health of more than 553,000 people living within the North and South Lanarkshire local authority areas. There are three district general hospitals in the area - Hairmyres Hospital, Monklands and Wishaw General Hospital.^[7][8] Each of these hospitals has an accident and emergency department and provides a range of specialist medical and surgical services. Primary health care is provided in the community and includes general practitioners (GPs), dentists, pharmacists, health visitors and a wide range of health professionals. NHS Lanarkshire's primary care facilities include health centres and seventeen community and day hospitals.^[9]

Population

Collectively, Airdrie, Coatbridge, and their surrounding villages were once referred to as Monklands. Monklands District Council was the local government district until the abolition of the two-tier local government system and creation of unitary authorities in 1996 with the passing of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.^[10] The hospital is technically in Airdrie, however it straddles the border between Airdrie and the neighbouring town, Coatbridge.^[11]

Monklands Hospital serves approximately 260,000 people in the North Lanarkshire catchment area, including the major towns of Airdrie, Coatbridge, Cumbernauld, Bellshill, Viewpark, Newhouse. It forms one of three acute hospitals in NHS Lanarkshire.

The Monklands

Monklands hospital can be described as a medium-sized general hospital, apart from wards 1 and 2, all the hospital wards and departments are 'under one roof'. Wards 1 and 2 are reached through a glass tunnel. The hospital is distinctive in that it has two towers, one predominantly medical wards, the other surgical. The towers are six floors each, with a lower ground level, a ground and four floors above that. The lower ground contains the canteen, the pharmacy and the mortuary.

Monklands Hospital aerial view circa 1980

The wards, bed capacity and their specialities are:

Along with these areas, the hospital also has an A&E department and a day surgery unit. Wards 24 and 25 as Mental Health areas are under the authority of the primary Care Division of NHS Lanarkshire and are independent of the hospital. Prior to the refurbishment of the A&E department and the building of the ERU, ward 23 was an A&E short-stay ward. Ward 8 became ward 7a urology, this closed April 2010. Ward 11a was previously called ward 12; and there has never been a ward 13, for superstitious reasons. Similarly some hospital wards and departments do not have rooms numbered 13.

Centralised Services

As part of NHS Lanarkshire's A Picture of Health consultation on the future of service provision within Lanarkshire, the centralisation of specialist services at the most appropriate site is an ongoing process. The centralisation of services to Wishaw General and Hairmyres has been discussed.

The centralised services for NHS Lanarkshire at Monklands Hospital are:

• Ear Nose and Throat Surgery
• Dermatology
• Renal
• Infectious and communicable diseases
• Urology

Acute Services Review

NHS Lanarkshire's 'Picture of Health' document suggested the downgrading to two consultant-led A&E departments, with a choice between Monklands and Hairmyres for downgrading. The level two hospital will have a nurse-led Minor Injuries Unit, along with planned surgery, full diagnostic/outpatient services and general medicine. Eventually, Monklands was earmarked for downgrading. This would result in NHS Lanarkshire having consultant-led accident and emergency departments at Wishaw General Hospital and Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride ^[12]

The decision was widely criticised, including the former Home Secretary, John Reid MP, voicing his disapproval of the plans.^[13] In September 2006, the plan was approved by Lewis MacDonald, Deputy Health and Community Care minister.^[14][15] In May 2007, the Labour administration lost out to the Scottish National Party in the Scottish Parliament Elections 2007 and the decision was overturned by the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon. She demanded that NHS Lanarkshire find a way of keeping three fully functioning consultant-led A+E departments in Lanarkshire.^[16] NHS Lanarkshire have since developed seven possible combinations of keeping three A+E departments open, which have now been delivered for public scrutiny.^[17]

In December 2013 it emerged that Healthcare Improvement Scotland figures showed the hospital had recorded a higher than predicted mortality rate in 18 of the previous 27 quarterly reports.^[18] The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Scotland produced a report entitled "Learning from serious failings in care" in July 2015. They found above-average mortality rates at the Hospital and called on NHS Lanarkshire to make widespread improvements.^[19]

References

Coordinates: 55°51′57″N 3°59′55″W / 55.86583°N 3.99861°W / 55.86583; -3.99861