St David's Hospital () is a health facility in Canton,

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales. It is managed by the

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CAVUHB; ) is the local health board of NHS Wales for Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan, in the South-east Wales, south-east of Wales. Formed on 1 October 2009 through the amalgamation of three NHS organisati ...

. The original main block is a Grade II

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

History

Original hospital

Cardiff created its own

Poor Law Union A poor law union was a geographical territory, and early local government unit, in Great Britain and Ireland. Poor law unions existed in England and Wales from 1834 to 1930 for the administration of poor relief. Prior to the Poor Law Amendment ...

in 1836 and the new Cardiff Union Workhouse, which was built on Cowbridge Road at a cost of £7,500, opened in 1839. Because of the growing population of the area, in 1862 child inmates were relocated to the Ely Industrial Schools. In 1872 an infirmary for the sick was added to the northwest of the workhouse, with 164 beds. The building was expanded in 1881, including a new entrance building on the Cowbridge Road frontage with a 3-storey tower and clock face. New accommodation included a committee room, waiting rooms and attendants' offices. The architects were James, Seward & Thomas and the exterior design had similarities to Seward's 1883 Cardiff Infirmary, though using cheaper materials. The buildings were further expanded in 1890 and, by 1908, the workhouse had a capacity for over 1,000 inmates. 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 ...

as St David's Hospital in 1948. Notable people born in the maternity unit at St David's Hospital include Wales footballer,

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; born 29 November 1973) is a Welsh football coach, former player and co-owner of Salford City. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, and one of the best wingers in the history of footba ...

, who was born there in 1973. It closed in the early 1990s and the majority of the old buildings were demolished, leaving the Victorian entrance building and clock tower. This fell into disrepair and was the target of vandalism, but in 2002 it was refurbished and converted into apartments.

Modern hospital

A modern facility, located to the rear of the old hospital, was commissioned 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 in 1999. The facility, which was designed by HL Design and built by Macob Construction at a cost of £16 million, opened on

Saint David's Day Saint David's Day ( or ), or the Feast of Saint David, is the feast day of Saint David, the patron saint of Wales, and falls on 1 March, the date of Saint David's death in 589 AD. Traditional festivities include wearing daffodils and leeks, ...

2002. Facilities included 100 beds, initially for mental health patients (transferred from Royal Hamadryad Hospital) and the elderly (from Lansdowne Hospital) but also including children's services, therapies and dental services.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint David's Hospital, Cardiff Cardiff and Vale University Health Board NHS hospitals in Wales Grade II listed buildings in Cardiff Hospitals in Cardiff Hospitals established in 1872 2002 establishments in Wales Poor law infirmaries