Whitchurch Hospital
Encyclopedia
Whitchurch Hospital is a psychiatric hospital
in Whitchurch
, an area in the north of Cardiff
. As well as general psychiatry, services include elderly psychiatry, neuropsychiatry
, forensic psychiatry
, rehabilitation
and addiction
services. It is part of the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
The hospital was previously named the Cardiff City Asylum. It was founded in 1904 and opened on the 15th April 1908. During World War I, the facility was called the Welsh Metropolitan War Hospital.
The current facilities are considered obsolete and unsuitable for the requirements of 21st century psychiatry. As a result, there is an ongoing programme to phase out and replace the current building. Some facilities have been moved to newly-built units elsewhere, such as the acute psychiatric wards at the Llanfair Unit, Llandough Hospital. Other wards have been replaced by community-based services such as Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams. The remaining facilities will be moved to a new purpose-built hospital to be constructed on the site of the adjoining Tegfan Day Hospital. This new hospital is expected to be completed in 2010.
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...
in Whitchurch
Whitchurch, Cardiff
Whitchurch is a suburb in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is approximately 3 miles north of the centre of the city on the A470 road and A4054 road. Its estimated population as of 2004 was 15,649. It falls within the Whitchurch & Tongwynlais ward.-History:Whitchurch draws its name from...
, an area in the north of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
. As well as general psychiatry, services include elderly psychiatry, neuropsychiatry
Neuropsychiatry
Neuropsychiatry is the branch of medicine dealing with mental disorders attributable to diseases of the nervous system. It preceded the current disciplines of psychiatry and neurology, in as much as psychiatrists and neurologists had a common training....
, forensic psychiatry
Forensic psychiatry
Forensic psychiatry is a sub-speciality of psychiatry and an auxiliar science of criminology. It encompasses the interface between law and psychiatry...
, rehabilitation
Physical medicine and rehabilitation
Physical medicine and rehabilitation , physiatry or rehabilitation medicine, is a branch of medicine that aims to enhance and restore functional ability and quality of life to those with physical impairments or disabilities. A physician having completed training in this field is referred to as a...
and addiction
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
services. It is part of the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board.
The hospital was previously named the Cardiff City Asylum. It was founded in 1904 and opened on the 15th April 1908. During World War I, the facility was called the Welsh Metropolitan War Hospital.
The current facilities are considered obsolete and unsuitable for the requirements of 21st century psychiatry. As a result, there is an ongoing programme to phase out and replace the current building. Some facilities have been moved to newly-built units elsewhere, such as the acute psychiatric wards at the Llanfair Unit, Llandough Hospital. Other wards have been replaced by community-based services such as Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams. The remaining facilities will be moved to a new purpose-built hospital to be constructed on the site of the adjoining Tegfan Day Hospital. This new hospital is expected to be completed in 2010.
External links
- NHS Trust hospital information
- Contemporary photographs of the buildings from County Asylums website.
- Aerial photographs from County Asylums website.
- Historical photos from record office archives.
- Contemporary photos on Wikimedia Commons