Medway Maritime Hospital
Encyclopedia
Medway Maritime Hospital is a general hospital in Gillingham
, England
within the NHS South East Coast
. It is run by Medway NHS which is a foundation trust
. It is Kent
's largest and busiest hospital, dealing with around 400,000 patients annually. It was founded as the Royal Naval Hospital in 1902 for the Naval personnel at the Chatham Dockyard
. At that time the main corridor was almost 1,000 feet long.
The hospital was where the Piano Man
was taken after being found wandering in a soaking wet suit and tie.
and All Saints' in Chatham
.
Under an ongoing and regularly updated NHS survey, the quality of service is regarded as "fair", with 96% of patients waiting less than 18 weeks for treatment. The hospital is run by the Medway NHS Foundation Trust
, one of four hospital trusts in Kent
. The trust employs over 3500 staff. The trust's main focus is running the Medway Maritime Hospital. Medway is a foundation trust
, which means it has more financial and operational freedom than "ordinary" NHS Trusts.
, wearing a soaking wet suit and tie. Despite many attempts to communicate with him, he remained silent. When given a pen and paper he drew a grand piano. When taken to a piano in the hospital chapel, he played classical music non-stop for four hours. After four months he revealed his identity as Andreas Grassl from Bavaria, and he returned home.
Gillingham, Kent
Gillingham is a town in the unitary authority of Medway in South East England. It is part of the ceremonial county of Kent. The town includes the settlements of Brompton, Hempstead, Rainham, Rainham Mark and Twydall....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
within the NHS South East Coast
NHS South East Coast
NHS South East Coast is a strategic health authority of the National Health Service in England. It operates in the South East region, along with NHS South Central, providing coterminosity with the local government office region.-History:...
. It is run by Medway NHS which is a foundation trust
NHS Foundation Trust
An NHS foundation trust is part of the National Health Service in England and has gained a degree of independence from the Department of Health and local NHS strategic health authority.Foundation Trusts are represented by the , .-Function:...
. It is Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
's largest and busiest hospital, dealing with around 400,000 patients annually. It was founded as the Royal Naval Hospital in 1902 for the Naval personnel at the Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard
Chatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
. At that time the main corridor was almost 1,000 feet long.
The hospital was where the Piano Man
Andreas Grassl
Andreas Grassl is a German man found in England in April 2005, who remained unidentified for a long time due to his refusal to speak, communicating instead through drawing and playing the piano...
was taken after being found wandering in a soaking wet suit and tie.
History
The hospital was opened as the Royal Naval Hospital by King Edward VII on July 26, 1905 as a replacement for the 252 bed Melville Hospital (Naval), which was not large enough to deal with the increasing numbers of Naval personnel moving into Chatham. In 1961 the hospital became part of the Medway Health Authority. The hospital closed for modernisation, and after some delays, opened again in 1965 under the name "Medway Hospital". After a £60 million development in 1999, the hospital changed its name to "Medway Maritime Hospital" and services were transferred from neighbouring hospitals St Bartholomew's in RochesterRochester, Medway
Rochester is a town and former city in Kent, England. It is located within the unitary authority area of Medway and is at the lowest bridging point of the River Medway about from London. The town is known for its cathedral and castle, and for an epic siege in 1215...
and All Saints' in Chatham
Chatham, Medway
Chatham is one of the Medway towns located within the Medway unitary authority, in North Kent, in South East England.Although the dockyard has long been closed and is now being redeveloped into a business and residential community as well as a museum featuring the famous submarine, HMS Ocelot,...
.
Details
Medway Maritime Hospital has 588 beds in 29 wards under five main departments: accident and emergency, adult medicine, surgery and anaesthetics, children and women, clinical support services.Under an ongoing and regularly updated NHS survey, the quality of service is regarded as "fair", with 96% of patients waiting less than 18 weeks for treatment. The hospital is run by the Medway NHS Foundation Trust
Medway NHS Foundation Trust
The Medway NHS Trust is one of four hospital trusts in Kent, in southeast England. The trust employs over 3500 staff. The trust's main focus is running Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham, Medway....
, one of four hospital trusts in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. The trust employs over 3500 staff. The trust's main focus is running the Medway Maritime Hospital. Medway is a foundation trust
NHS Foundation Trust
An NHS foundation trust is part of the National Health Service in England and has gained a degree of independence from the Department of Health and local NHS strategic health authority.Foundation Trusts are represented by the , .-Function:...
, which means it has more financial and operational freedom than "ordinary" NHS Trusts.
Hospital Radio Medway
Medway Hospital Radio was formed in 1970. The radio station has over 45 volunteers and 2 broadcast studios located in the basement of the hospital. It broadcasts to all the wards in the hospital.The Piano Man
An unidentified man who became known as "Piano Man" was treated at Medway Hospital during April, 2005. The man was found wandering the streets in SheernessSheerness
Sheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
, wearing a soaking wet suit and tie. Despite many attempts to communicate with him, he remained silent. When given a pen and paper he drew a grand piano. When taken to a piano in the hospital chapel, he played classical music non-stop for four hours. After four months he revealed his identity as Andreas Grassl from Bavaria, and he returned home.