Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Trust
Encyclopedia
The Luton and Dunstable Hospital is a medium-size, general hospital run by the National Health Service
in Luton
, Bedfordshire
. Founded in 1937, the hospital is currently an NHS Trust
, providing general medical and surgical services, for over 350,000 people in Luton and Dunstable
, the south of Bedfordshire, the north of Hertfordshire
and parts of Buckinghamshire
. The hospital is often abbreviated to the 'L&D', and employs 3,400 staff.
that opened in 1872. The first hospital of any note in Luton was the Bute Hospital which opened in 1882, built on land in Dunstable Road donated by the Marquis of Bute.The site was enlarged to a 40-bed establishment in 1902. There was insufficient space for expansion, so it was decided to build another hospital, with scope for expansion. Ten acres of land, situated in the country between Luton
and Dunstable
were purchased from Electrolux
, and a hospital was built. The hospital was opened by Queen Mary
on 14 February 1939.
, made up of a Non-Executive Chairman, a Chief Executive, Executive Directors
and Non-Executive Directors. The current Chief Executive is Pauline Philip, who joined on July 1st 2010.
In the same year the Trust handled:
Luton and Dunstable has been a Safer Patient Initiative site since 2004. Reducing the hospital’s mortality rate
was a priority for Chief Executive Stephen Ramsden, who believes that saving patient lives must be at the top of all chief executives’ agendas.
Stephen Ramsden was appointed the director of the National Patient Safety Campaign., after the hospital wonThe Health Foundation's Safer Patients Initiative.
He also received an OBE for services to healthcare.
, to improve call management and communications at the Trust.
On average the Trust takes over 4000 phone calls per day from outside, plus thousands more internally. The ContactPortal acts as a virtual operator 24 hours a day, using speech recognition
technology to answer, transfer and make telephone
calls.
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
. Founded in 1937, the hospital is currently an NHS Trust
NHS Trust
A National Health Service trust provides services on behalf of the National Health Service in England and NHS Wales.The trusts are not trusts in the legal sense but are in effect public sector corporations. Each trust is headed by a board consisting of executive and non-executive directors, and is...
, providing general medical and surgical services, for over 350,000 people in Luton and Dunstable
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
, the south of Bedfordshire, the north of Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
and parts of Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. The hospital is often abbreviated to the 'L&D', and employs 3,400 staff.
History
The first hospital was a modest Cottage HospitalCottage Hospital
The original concept of a cottage hospital was a small rural hospital having up to 25 beds. One advantage of such a hospital in villages was the familiarity the local physician might have with their patient that may affect their treatment...
that opened in 1872. The first hospital of any note in Luton was the Bute Hospital which opened in 1882, built on land in Dunstable Road donated by the Marquis of Bute.The site was enlarged to a 40-bed establishment in 1902. There was insufficient space for expansion, so it was decided to build another hospital, with scope for expansion. Ten acres of land, situated in the country between Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
and Dunstable
Dunstable
Dunstable is a market town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England. It lies on the eastward tail spurs of the Chiltern Hills, 30 miles north of London. These geographical features form several steep chalk escarpments most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the north.-Etymology:In...
were purchased from Electrolux
Electrolux
The Electrolux Group is a Swedish appliance maker.As of 2010 the 2nd largest home appliance manufacturer in the world after Whirlpool, its products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners...
, and a hospital was built. The hospital was opened by Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
on 14 February 1939.
- Ward 1 was named after Queen Mary;
- Ward 2 after a Dunstable grocer, Arthur Frederick Buckingham
- Ward 4 after Lady Ludlow from Luton HooLuton HooLuton Hoo straddles the Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire borders between the towns of Harpenden and Luton. The unusual name "Hoo" is a Saxon word meaning the spur of a hill, and is more commonly associated with East Anglia.- Early History :...
Governance
The hospital is managed by a Board of DirectorsBoard of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
, made up of a Non-Executive Chairman, a Chief Executive, Executive Directors
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
and Non-Executive Directors. The current Chief Executive is Pauline Philip, who joined on July 1st 2010.
Statistics
In the financial year 2007-2008, the Trust employed over 3400 staff, and had an annual spend of £169 million.In the same year the Trust handled:
- Over 60,000 in-patient admissions;
- Over 200,000 out-patient appointments;
- Over 61,000 attendances at the A&E department;
- Over 5,000 births.
Patient Safety
L&D is committed to patient safety of all patients in the care of L&D.Luton and Dunstable has been a Safer Patient Initiative site since 2004. Reducing the hospital’s mortality rate
Mortality rate
Mortality rate is a measure of the number of deaths in a population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit time...
was a priority for Chief Executive Stephen Ramsden, who believes that saving patient lives must be at the top of all chief executives’ agendas.
Stephen Ramsden was appointed the director of the National Patient Safety Campaign., after the hospital wonThe Health Foundation's Safer Patients Initiative.
He also received an OBE for services to healthcare.
Technology
The Luton and Dunstable Hospital NHS Trust has announced that it has been provided with a new speech driven system, the ContactPortal by TelephoneticsTelephonetics
Telephonetics VIP is a software company that develops speech recognition and voice automation solutions. Telephonetics VIP is a subsidiary of Telephonetics plc which listed on the AIM Market on 07 Jul 2005...
, to improve call management and communications at the Trust.
On average the Trust takes over 4000 phone calls per day from outside, plus thousands more internally. The ContactPortal acts as a virtual operator 24 hours a day, using speech recognition
Speech recognition
Speech recognition converts spoken words to text. The term "voice recognition" is sometimes used to refer to recognition systems that must be trained to a particular speaker—as is the case for most desktop recognition software...
technology to answer, transfer and make telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
calls.