Prince Of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital, Rhydlafar
History
The hospital was established in James Howell House, formerly a domestic house and lodging house in The Walk, Cardiff as the Wales and Monmouthshire Hospital for Limbless Sailors and Soldiers in 1914. It was renamed the Prince of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital when it was officially opened by the Prince of Wales in 1918. To mark the opening, a cromlech was erected in the front garden by Sir John Lynn-Thomas, a surgeon at the hospital.
It moved to the partially derelict site of a former American military hospital at Rhydlafar in 1953. In time, the hospital became a centre of excellence in the treatment of orthopaedic patients, and the National Blood Transfusion Service (Wales) relocated to the site in 1956. In later years, students were sent to the hospital for their orthopaedic training. However, the hospital was threatened with closure on a number of occasions and, after services had been transferred to other hospitals in the area, it finally closed in 1998.
The site previously occupied by the hospital is now a housing development on a landscaped site with a children's playground.
References
- ^ "The Prince of Wales Hospital 1953 - 1998". Parc Rhydlafar. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 2 May 2016.
- ^ "James Howell House, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Walk, Cardiff (406994)". Coflein. RCAHMW. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ^ "Prince of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital" (PDF). Glamorgan Record Office. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ^ "Erection of transfusion centre at Rhydlafar hospital near Cardiff". National archives. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- ^ "Cardiff Community Boundary Review" (PDF). City of Cardiff Council. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
Further reading
- Phelps, Robert (1993). The Prince & the Pioneers. The early work of the Prince of Wales Orthopaedic Hospital Cardiff. Cardiff: University Hospital of Wales and Cardiff Royal Group of Hospitals.