The Development of Barnsley and District Hospital
Below are selected excerpts from local history publications offering insights into St Helen Hospital and its development in becoming the Barnsley District General Hospital.
‘St Helen Municipal General Hospital. This hospital was appropriated under the Public Health Act 1936 as a General Hospital. Much work had to be done and still remains to be done to transform this hospital into a modern hospital fit to take its place with the modern general hospitals throughout the country.
‘There are 205 beds available and it is very pleasant to see how these beds are so often and so well used. Instead of being merely a hospital largely devoted to chronic and senile cases, the hospital is now receiving an increasing number of acutely ill patients.’
Excerpt taken from booklet ‘County Borough of Barnsley: The Public Health Services of the Corporation’ 1938, pages 25-27.
‘St Helen Hospital, Barnsley.’
‘Built in 1883, the Hospital was then the Infirmary portion of the Barnsley Workhouse and Infirmary, and was controlled and administered by the Board of Guardians. The Local Government Act, 1929, rendered the Board of Guardians defunct, and the Institution and Infirmary passed to the control of the Barnsley County Borough Council on the 1st April 1930. Early in the 1930s the administration of the infirmary portion was transferred from the Public Assistance Committee of the Corporation to the Public Health Committee. In 1936 the name “Infirmary” was changed to “St Helen Hospital;”, and the hospital continued to provide accommodation and facilities for the treatment and nursing mainly of chronic sick patients, a few maternity cases and mental cases.
‘Immediately after the second world war, out-patient clinics were commenced for obstetric patients under the Medical Superintendent, and a visiting consultant Gynaecologist and Obstetrician, in a portion of the premises adapted for these purposes from what had been a gas decontamination united erected during the war. This building is still used for clinics, enlarged in 1957 by the addition of a hutment to provide waiting accommodation, lavatories and registration office. Paediatric and medical clinics are also held in this building, in addition to clinics for gynaecology and obstetrics.
‘Rather forbidding in appearance viewed from the outside, the interior of the hospital building has been transformed since 1948. The whole of the ground floor corridor has been covered with semastic tiles, and the corridor walls of bare stone covered with plaster boards and re-decorated. Stone staircases considerably worn have been repaired and covered with semastic tiles and ferodo nosings. The floors of every ward but one (it is hoped to complete this in the near future), have been covered with linoleum tiles, each ward with its own colour scheme. All wards have been modernised by enlarging and re-equipping sluice rooms, toilets and bathrooms. Additional radiators have been installed, and cubicle curtaining. Single bed cubicles have been provided on each ward, and sterilising rooms, Accommodation for paediatric cases was made available in 1954; the children’s ward at the Beckett Hospital being given over to surgical (adult) cases at that date. The premises 49 and 51, Gawber Road, previously held on lease for the use of nurses from St Helen Hospital, were purchased by the Minister in June, 1950. The residence – 28 Victoria Road – was purchased by the Minister in September, 1951, to provide additional residential accommodation required for nursing staff, In April, 1950, the detached house – 8, Moorland Avenue, Dodworth Road – was acquired to provide accommodation for the then Medical Superintendent. The installation of bed lifts – one at each end of the hospital – was commenced by the Barnsley Corporation in early 1948, and completed in June, 1949. A new building to provide dining rooms for nursing and other staff has been erected, and opened in June, 1950. In 1956, the Trustees of the Frank Collindridge Memorial Fund paid for an extension to the nurses’ dining room to provide a nurses’ lounge, and for the furnishing and decoration thereof, at a cost of approximately £1,000.
‘Extensions to the X-ray Department have been carried out, and new equipment installed. The interior of the operating theatre was completely replanned in 1916, and an excellent theatre -within the limits of the space available – eventually made available.
‘Television sets have been provided for each ward, and each bed has wireless.
‘The hospital has now the following accommodation: 2 Maternity Wards, 1 Gynaecological Ward, Premature Baby Unit, Paediatric Ward, one ward shared by female chronic sick and acute medical cases, and one ward shared by male chronic sick and acute medical cases.
‘Planning is proceeding to develop the St Helen Hospital from its present bed complement of 225 into a large hospital for 560 or so beds. It will then be the main hospital in the group, providing facilities for most specialties, and will take over most of the functions carried out by the Beckett Hospital, it being the intention of the Regional Hospital Board that the latter hospital will then be adapted to provide accommodation for chronic sick and psychiatric cases.
‘Visiting Hours: Sunday to Friday – 7 p.m. – 8 p.m. Saturday - 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. Children: Daily – Between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.’
Excerpt taken from booklet “Your Hospital Service”, c. 1958, pages 15-17.
‘The development on the site of St Helen Hospital will provide a new district general hospital of some 850 beds for Barnsley and district, Essential accommodation will be provided as quickly as possible, but the work will be so arranged that the existing St Helen Hospital will be in full working order until the completion, commissioning and occupation of the new development.
‘The irregularly shaped site of approximately 20 acres in area, The natural fall will provide for two levels of approach separating the different types of traffic – ambulance, patent/visitor traffic and traffic of a service nature. The main approach to the new hospital will be from Gawber Road apposite the main hospital entrance.
‘The project is to be carried out in two phases. The first phase, on which work commenced on Monday the 12th December 1966, comprises accommodation urgently required and consists of:
A maternity department of 123 beds with out-patient facilities;
A short stay psychiatric unit of 66 beds with a psychiatric day hospital unit for 30 day patients;
A service area comprising boiler house, laundry collection and despatch centre, mortuary and workshops which will serve the whole of the initial phase together with the existing hospital and the final completed development;
The other buildings to be provided are a new nurse teaching unit and group offices for the Hospital Management Committee.
‘Associated with the first phase will be residential accommodation, which will be provided immediately opposite the existing main entrance to St Helen Hospital.
‘The first phase of the development, which is scheduled to be completed in December 1969, will cost over two million pounds.
The second phase in the development will include the main hospital block comprising a large two story podium block with two multi-storey ward blocks; one of eight floors for general surgery and one of five floors for general medicine. The podium block will house a full range of diagnostic and treatment facilities, the out-patient department, accident and emergency centre operating theatres, pharmacy, sterile supplies department, a theatre service centre and a pathology department. It will also accommodate the main kitchen, staff dining facilities, bulk stores and hospital administration.
‘The cost of the second phase of the development is estimated to be five and a half million pounds.’
Excerpt taken from booklet ‘A New District General Hospital on the site of St Helen Hospital, Barnsley’
‘Barnsley District General Hospital is a hospital of 834 beds serving a catchment area of 220,000 and has been built by the Trent Regional Health Authority at a cost of £12 million, which includes equipment and furnishing at a cost of £1 ¾ million.
‘It is situated in the former Barnsley Borough on the site previously occupied by the Workhouse and Poor Law Infirmary. Phase I of the hospital was opened in October, 1970, and included a three-storey Maternity Unit and a three-storey Psychiatric Unit, together with a boilerhouse and other sundry services. This Phase also included the Nurse Training Unit in order that the training of the many extra nurses who would be required on the opening of Phase II could commence.
‘Phase II was brought into use in August 1977. This Phase include two multi-storey blocks and provides all the acute beds and services, including Out-Patients and Accident and Emergency Departments, for the whole area. In addition, residential accommodation was completed in this Phase and provision has now been made for 220 single residents in self-contained units and 40 married units.
The total number of staff working in the Hospital is 2,039.’
Excerpt taken from booklet ‘’Opening of Barnsley District General Hospital by Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra’
Aerial view of the Barnsley District General Hospital and St Helen Hospital, 1977.
From the Barnsley Archives and Local Studies collection. Reference 9541?