Heatherwood Hospital is an elective care hospital in

Ascot, Berkshire Ascot () is a town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is south of Windsor, east of Bracknell and west of London. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the Royal Ascot meeti ...

managed by

Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS Foundation Trust created on 1 October 2014 by the acquisition of Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust by Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This was the first ever tak ...

History

Former hospital

The hospital is located near the site of a former hospital that has its origins in a Victorian country residence known as "Heatherfield" built in 1876, possibly for the Farrar family (whose motto 'Ferre va Ferme' appears over the front door). It was in the ownership of the Ponsonby family between 1881 and 1891, when the Hon.

Ashley Ponsonby The Hon. Ashley George John Ponsonby, (24 June 1831 – 12 January 1898), was a British Liberal politician. Background Ponsonby was a younger son of William Ponsonby, 1st Baron de Mauley, third son of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborou ...

, a Justice of the Peace and cousin of Sir Henry Ponsonby, Equerry to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

, and his family had their country seat there. By 1900 the estate was known as Heatherwood and had been acquired by Sir Thomas Lucas, Bt., the son of Thomas Lucas, one of the founders of Lucas Brothers, the builders. The estate was offered for sale at auction by Messers Chancellor and Sons in 1906, but initially failed to find a purchaser. The house and estate was eventually acquired by the United Services Fund (possibly in 1919 when the estate was again offered for sale at auction but more likely in 1920 when it was sold by private treaty by Hamptons). The United Services Fund converted the building into a hospital for the children of ex-servicemen from the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Patients were admitted from 1922 and the new hospital was officially opened by the

Duke of Connaught Duke of Connaught and Strathearn was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that was granted on 24 May 1874 by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to her third son, Prince Arthur. At the same time, he was al ...

in May 1923. The new facility specialised in the treatment of children suffering from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and orthopaedic diseases. The hospital joined the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

in 1948 and new accident and emergency, out-patient, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy facilities were opened by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

in 1961. A new maternity department opened in 1972 and a new mental health and elderly health unit was opened by

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...

in 1988. Following cut-backs, the birth unit closed in September 2011 and the minor injuries unit closed in January 2014. Plans to demolish the former hospital were announced in 2016. Approval for a development of 230 homes to replace the site was announced in 2022.

Current site

The present hospital first opened its doors to patients on 28 March 2022, and officially opened by the

Sophie, Countess of Wessex Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones; 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest sibling of King Charles III. Sophie grew up in Brenchley, ...

on 19 January 2023. A report published by the

Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care providers in England. It ...

in 2024 found that in a survey of 63,573 patients in England who stayed one night or more in a hospital during November 2023, inpatients of the hospital reported the highest average score for overall patient satisfaction in England. In 2024, the radiography team of the hospital's

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

facility, alongside the relevant team at

Wexham Park Hospital Wexham Park Hospital is a large NHS hospital in Slough, Berkshire. It has been managed by Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust since 2014. History The hospital was built on the site of a Victorian mansion known as Wexham Park and was completed i ...

who are also employed by the trust, submitted a collective grievance statement through the trade union GMB expressing concern over plans to subcontract additional MRI services to a private third party. They said it would introduce friction and an unfriendly work environment by fragmenting the workforce outside the NHS, and referred to previous attempts of clinical outsourcing as directing money to pay directors higher wages. The trust said the plans would not affect the employment arrangements of staff.

Services

The hospital is dedicated to planned care (non-emergency treatment). It has 6 operating theatres, 48 inpatient beds, and 22 day-case units.

Notes

External links

Heatherwood Hospital

Hospital buildings completed in 1922 Hospital buildings completed in 2022 Hospitals in Berkshire NHS hospitals in England Sunninghill and Ascot

References

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