Frimley Park Hospital

History

Frimley Park Hospital was opened to provide a full range of acute services to patients North East Hampshire and West Surrey in 1974. After Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot closed in 1996, the hospital was selected by the Ministry of Defence to host one of the Ministry of Defence Hospital Units.

The hospital was built with reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete beams which were the subject of a safety alert in 2019. In 2022 it was announced that operating theatres would be taken out of use to allow for urgent work on their roofs. This would reduce the capacity for operations by around 2,000. Emergency work would also affect its ability to admit elective patients to beds. The reinforcement works, which are temporary, would cost £8.1 million in 2022-23, and around £10 million in subsequent years. On 25 May 2023 it was announced that the hospital will be rebuilt as it contains significant amounts of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. The Guardian newspaper noted that a 2020 proposal to rebuild Frimley Park Hospital was not funded by HM Treasury during Rishi Sunak's term as Chancellor of the Exchequer, despite a "catastrophic" grade of risk and a warning that an incident was "likely".

Notable births

Royal family:

• Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor (born 2003) daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.
• Earl of Wessex (born 2007) son of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh.

Other notable births:

• Jonny Wilkinson (born 1979) Rugby Union World Cup winner
• Boo and Walt Evans (born 2018) The twins of Chris Evans

Performance

After an inspection in August 2015 the hospital was one of only three in England rated "outstanding" by the Care Quality Commission.

In 2023 the hospital paid a £39 million settlement to a young girl who lost all four limbs after staff at the hospital failed to diagnose meningitis promptly. The trust admitted its errors in failing to diagnose meningitis despite red flags for meningitis and sepsis being present when the patient was first taken to hospital.

References

References

1. (14 November 2013). "During a routine inspection". Care Quality Commission.
2. (7 August 2008). "Frimley Park marks NHS at 60". Get Surrey.
3. "MDHU Frimley Park". Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps.
4. (5 July 2021). "Trust considers ‘replacing or rebuilding’ hospital due to risky roof beams". Health Service Journal.
5. (9 May 2022). "Trust hit by £2m penalty due to broken roof in ‘toughest year’ for funding". Health Service Journal.
6. "Five major hospitals to be rebuilt as part of over £20 billion new hospital infrastructure investment".
7. (13 September 2023). "Rishi Sunak blocked rebuild of hospitals riddled with crumbling concrete". The Guardian.
8. (8 November 2003). "Royal baby born prematurely". BBC News.
9. (17 December 2007). "Countess gives birth to baby boy". BBC News.
10. (30 October 2009). "Jonny Wilkinson back in a good place with England". The Telegraph.
11. (2018-09-20). "Chris Evans and wife welcome twins". BBC News.
12. (19 January 2016). "St Helens Hospital rated 'outstanding' by Care Quality Commission". BBC News.
13. (20 January 2023). "Girl Secures £39m after hospital meningitis error". BBC News.