The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) is a 274 bed acute care

Acute care

Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery...

 hospital located in Charlottetown

Charlottetown

Charlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...

, Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, making it the largest hospital in the province.

The facility opened in 1982, resulting in the closure of the Charlottetown Hospital

Charlottetown Hospital

The Charlottetown Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was the first public hospital established in the province....

 and the Prince Edward Island Hospital

Prince Edward Island Hospital

The Prince Edward Island Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was the first public general hospital established in the province and the largest such facility throughout its history....

 and is named in honour of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The QEH is located on a large forested campus originally known as Falconwood Farm in the northeast corner of the city adjoining the neighbourhoods of East Royalty

East Royalty, Prince Edward Island

East Royalty is a neighbourhood of the Canadian city of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.East Royalty is located in the northeast portion of the city and occupies the eastern part of the township of Queens Royalty....

 and Sherwood

Sherwood, Prince Edward Island

Sherwood is a neighbourhood of the city of Charlottetown in central Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Canada.Sherwood is centrally located in Charlottetown on the border of Queens Royalty and the township of Lot 33....

, overlooking the Hillsborough River

Hillsborough River (Prince Edward Island)

The Hillsborough River, also known as the East River, is a Canadian river in northeastern Queens County, Prince Edward Island.-Battle at Port-la-Joye :...

. The Hillsborough Hospital

Hillsborough Hospital

The Hillsborough Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It is the province's only mental health facility.It is a 75-bed facility providing 24 hr/day, 7 day/week medical services for individuals who are facing acute or enduring mental illnesses.-Mission:As the...

 is a psychiatric hospital

Psychiatric hospital

Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...

 located on an adjacent property.

The QEH is a full-service health care facility that provides community services to residents of Queens County

Queens County, Prince Edward Island

Queens County is located in central Prince Edward Island, Canada. The county is geographically divided by the Hillsborough River's estuary, a tidal inlet which almost splits the county and Prince Edward Island...

 and is a major referral centre for specialty services for residents across Prince Edward Island.

The QEH provides medical, surgical

Surgery

Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...

, ICU

Intensive Care Unit

thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...

, CCU

Coronary care unit

A coronary care unit is a hospital ward specialized in the care of patients with heart attacks, unstable angina, Cardiac dysrhythmia and various other cardiac conditions that require continuous monitoring and treatment.-Characteristics:...

, obstetrics

Obstetrics

Obstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...

, neonatal

Neonatal nursing

Neonatal nursing is the provision of nursing care for newborn infants up to 28 days after birth. The term neonatal comes from neo, "new", and natal, "pertaining to birth or origin"...

, pediatrics

Pediatrics

Pediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...

, psychiatry

Psychiatry

Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...

 and rehabilitation services. The hospital offers full surgical, laboratory and radiology

Radiology

Radiology is a medical specialty that employs the use of imaging to both diagnose and treat disease visualized within the human body. Radiologists use an array of imaging technologies to diagnose or treat diseases...

 services 24 hours/day, 7 days/week.

In 1999 the Prince Edward Island Cancer Treatment Centre opened a new facility at the QEH and was expanded in 2003. At the same time, the main entrance to the QEH off Riverside Drive was upgraded and the emergency department

Emergency department

An emergency department , also known as accident & emergency , emergency room , emergency ward , or casualty department is a medical treatment facility specialising in acute care of patients who present without prior appointment, either by their own means or by ambulance...

 was expanded.

The opening of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 1982 also saw the end of abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

 services in the province; one of the conditions that the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 placed on the provincial government for merging the Catholic-affiliated Charlottetown Hospital

Charlottetown Hospital

The Charlottetown Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was the first public hospital established in the province....

 with the secular Prince Edward Island Hospital

Prince Edward Island Hospital

The Prince Edward Island Hospital is a former acute care hospital that was located in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. It was the first public general hospital established in the province and the largest such facility throughout its history....

into the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital being that all abortion services in the province be discontinued.