Altnagelvin Area Hospital is the main

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

for the North West of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It is located in

Waterside, Derry The Waterside (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Wattèrbroo'', ) generally refers to the part of Derry on the east bank of the River Foyle. Traditionally, the Waterside ends at the Caw roundabout near the Foyle Bridge. Areas such as Eglinto ...

. It provides services to the city of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

and

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

, but also some specialist and acute services for parts of neighbouring

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

and

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

. It is managed by the

Western Health and Social Care Trust The Western Health and Social Care Trust is a health organisation in Northern Ireland. Hospitals served by the Trust include Altnagelvin Area Hospital, Waterside Hospital, Lakeview Hospital, Roe Valley Hospital, Grangewood, North West Cancer Cen ...

History

Altnagelvin Area Hospital was the first major hospital built in the United Kingdom after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and opened in 1960. In February 2003 the hospital was designated as one of the nine acute hospitals in the acute hospital network of Northern Ireland on which healthcare would be focused under the government health policy 'Developing Better Services'. A new renal

hemodialysis Hemodialysis, American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, also spelled haemodialysis, or simply ''"'dialysis'"'', is a process of filtering the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally. This type of Kidney dialys ...

unit was completed in 2005 and a new laboratory and pharmacy centre, procured under a

private finance initiative The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...

contract, opened in 2007. A new south wing, designed by HLM Architects and built at a cost of £45 million, was completed in 2010. In January 2011, it was revealed that 18,500 xrays taken in 2009 and 2010 in Altnagelvin's Medical Imaging Department had not been examined by a

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical specialty that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide treatment within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiation), but tod ...

. As a result, four patients with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

had their diagnosis delayed by several months. In March 2011 a political row developed when Health Minister Michael McGimpsey announced the postponement of plans to develop a regional radiotherapy unit at the hospital.

Ambulance services

The Western Division of the

Northern Ireland Ambulance Service The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) is an ambulance service that serves the whole of Northern Ireland, approximately 1.9 million people. As with other ambulance services in the United Kingdom, it does not charge its patients directly f ...

(NIAS) is headquartered at the Ambulance Station that is located within the hospital grounds.

University affiliations

The hospital is a teaching hospital, and has research and teaching links with

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, the

National University of Ireland, Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

and

Ulster University Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

References

External links

*
Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority inspection reports
{{authority control Western Health and Social Care Trust Hospital buildings completed in 1960 Teaching hospitals in Northern Ireland Health and Social Care (Northern Ireland) hospitals Buildings and structures in Derry (city) Hospitals established in 1960 1960 establishments in Northern Ireland Hospitals in County Londonderry