The Royal Victoria Hospital (commonly known as "The Royal" or the "R.V.H." or the royal Belfast) is a hospital in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

.

The hospital, which provides over a fifth of the acute beds in Northern Ireland and treats half a million patients a year, is currently undergoing a £74m refurbishment. This has included an extension to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children

Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children

The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children is a specialized government children's hospital and medical centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland....

, new wards in the main hospital, a new Accident & Emergency

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...

 department and a new maternity unit.

The hospital is located in West Belfast, approximately 15 minutes walk from the City Centre (Spires Centre, Jury's Hotel, Fitzwilliam Hotel site), on bus routes.

The hospital has a Regional Virus Centre which is one of the four laboratories in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 on the WHO

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

 list of laboratories able to perform PCR

Polymerase chain reaction

The polymerase chain reaction is a scientific technique in molecular biology to amplify a single or a few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence....

 for rapid diagnosis of influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in humans.
Completed in 1906, it is a landmark in building engineering, laying claim to being the first air conditioned

Air conditioning

An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...

 public building in the world.