St James's University Hospital, Leeds

St James's University Hospital ''Confirming name as "St James's"'' is in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is popularly known as Jimmy's. It is one of the United Kingdom's most famous hospitals due to its coverage on television. It is managed by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

History

The hospital has its origins in the Leeds Moral and Industrial Training School built in 1848 (which now forms part of the Lincoln Wing). Subsequent early developments included the Leeds Union Workhouse (which now houses the Thackray Medical Museum) built in 1858. The chapel, which is a Grade II listed building, was completed in 1861 by the firm of Perkin & Beckhouse, of Leeds, and the Leeds Union Infirmary (the site of the present Gledhow Wing) was built in 1874.P. M Pennock ''Publications of the Thoresby Society'', Vol LIX part 2, no 130, pp. 124–76 "The Evolution of St James's 1848–97"

By the end of the 19th century, the facilities were largely used for medical care of the poor, rather than as a workhouse. During the First World War it was called the East Leeds War Hospital, caring for armed services personnel. From 1881 the Medical Superintendent of the Leeds Union Infirmary was Dr James Allan. On his retirement in 1925, the infirmary was renamed St James's Hospital, to honour him, and also Sir James Ford, of the Leeds Board of Guardians, who had overseen the conversion from workhouse to hospital.

The hospital expanded following the creation of the National Health Service in 1948 and the site was redeveloped during the 1960s. It was one of the hospitals investigated in 1967 as a result of the publication of Barbara Robb's book "Sans Everything". Accusations were made against a State Enrolled Nurse including "assaults; the deliberate act of making an elderly female patient inebriated by means of brandy which had been issued to the ward; swearing at patients; mischievously and maliciously squirting spirit onto the bodies of elderly patients in order to give them shocks". There were also allegations of neglect and inefficiency, which were subsequently determined to have been unfounded.

In 1970, following expansion of Leeds School of Medicine, it was renamed St James's University Hospital. The Chancellor's Wing, which included a new Accident and Emergency Department, was opened by the then Chancellor of the University of Leeds, the Duchess of Kent, in February 1972.

A new oncology building, the Bexley Wing, containing the St James's Institute of Oncology (including the Gamma Knife Centre) was procured under a Private Finance Initiative contract in 2004. It was designed by Anshen & Allen and built by Bovis Lend Lease at a cost of £265 million and accepted its first patients in December 2007. It was officially opened by the Princess Royal on 17 July 2008. The building is one of Europe's largest cancer centres, with 1,600 staff and 350 beds.

In 2010, all children's emergency department were moved to Leeds General Infirmary, which meant the loss of this service at St James's. The emergency department at St James's is now just for adults.

2002 serial killer incident

In 2002, serial killer nurse Colin Norris, who worked on the orthopaedics ward of the hospital, killed two of his own patients in cold blood. He had been transferred to St James's from Leeds General Infirmary, where it later materialised he had already murdered two patients and attempted to kill another. He was caught after Dr Emma Ward ordered blood tests on victim Ethel Hall, who despite only having a broken hip had inexplicably fallen into a hypoglycaemic coma, with the tests revealing that she had been secretly injected with a huge amount insulin. Norris's case was sent to the Court of Appeal in 2021 and he may now be released.

Facilities

All of the hospital buildings except Chancellor's Wing, which was named after the Duchess of Kent, a former Chancellor of the University of Leeds, are named after surrounding streets in the Leeds suburb of Harehills:
*Beckett Wing – Care of the Elderly
*Bexley Wing – Oncology
*Gledhow Wing
*Lincoln Wing
*Chancellor's Wing

The hospital is one of six centres which conduct liver transplants. St James's was the location of the first living-related donor Liver transplantation on the NHS. The University of Leeds has a large presence at the St James's Hospital site with a new molecular medicine centre, the Wellcome Trust Brenner building. There is a notable cystic fibrosis unit in the Gledhow wing which offers specialist inpatient and outpatient services and research, and has its own method of management guidelines called the "Cystic Fibrosis Leeds method of management". The Thackray Medical Museum adjoins the hospital site and is located in the Grade II listed former main building of the Leeds Union Workhouse.

''Jimmy's'' TV series

St James's University Hospital's fame derives in part from its extensive television coverage in the documentary series also titled "''Jimmy's''", produced by Yorkshire Television (YTV) between 1987 and 1996 for ITV.

Main buildings

Image:Jimmys Beckett 2008.jpg, Beckett Wing
Image:Jimmys Oncology 2008.jpg, Leeds Cancer Centre Oncology (Bexley Wing)
Image:Jimmys Chancellor 2008.jpg, Chancellor's Wing
Image:Jimmys Lincoln 2008.jpg, Lincoln Wing
Image:Jimmys Gledhow 2008.jpg, Gledhow Wing
Image:Jimmys Brenner 2008.jpg, Wellcome Trust Brenner Building
Image:Jimmys Clinical Sciences 2008.jpg, Clinical Sciences Building

See also

* List of hospitals in England
* Listed buildings in Leeds (Gipton and Harehills Ward)

References

External links

Hospital website
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* (paper by Deviser/Producer/Director of TV series)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint James's University Hospital, Leeds
Hospital buildings completed in 1925
Hospitals in Leeds
NHS hospitals in England
Teaching hospitals in England
University of Leeds
Harehills
Poor law infirmaries