Inverclyde Royal Hospital

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Inverclyde Royal Hospital, which opened in 1979, is a district general hospital in Greenock which serves a large population area of 125 000 consisting of Inverclyde (including Greenock), Largs, Isle of Bute and Cowal Peninsula. Inverclyde is one of three main hospitals in the South Clyde area, alongside Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria and Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley and is both owned and run by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, previously NHS Argyll and Clyde.FacilitiesInverclyde provides many facilities including an A&E department, general medical and surgical inpatient beds, orthopaedics, ophthalmology and psychiatry. There is a three-bed intensive care unit and a four-bed high dependency unit and an eleven bed coronary care unit; providing a unique combined critical care unit. The Larkfield Unit, a five ward annexe to IRH, contains three geriatric medicine wards (including an acute stroke unit), a secure geriatric psychiatric ward, and a rehabilitation ward for patients with physical disabilities. However there is no consultant-led maternity unit at the hospital, only a midwife-led unit - consultant obstetric services have been based at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley since 2003 - and there are no in-patient paediatric services.There are regular out-patient clinics in all medical and surgical specialties, obstetrics and gynaecology, and paediatrics.HistoryConstruction work started at the end on August 1970.Proposed downgradeInverclyde was initially going to face a big downgrade with the loss of the A&E department and acute surgical ward being re-located to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley which was to save as much as £40 million by the NHS Argyll & Clyde health board. Many criticised the plans complaining that the Inverclyde was being seen as nothing more than a large health centre; being allowed to run down and close and accessibility problems trying to get to the Royal Alexandra which would have been better suited at the Southern General if the go-ahead was given.