Royal Victoria Infirmary

Story

The Royal Victoria Infirmary is an 673-bed tertiary referral centre in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. The hospital is part of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is a teaching hospital for the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.HistoryFounded as the Newcastle Infirmary in 1751, the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, was opened on 11 July 1906 by Edward VII on 10acre of Town Moor given by the Corporation and Freemen. The fully furnished and equipped hospital, containing twenty wards, a nurses' home, chapel and five operating theatres, cost over £300,000,000. The statue of Queen Victoria was the gift of Riley Lord, who was knighted for his efforts in getting the Infirmary built. Overcrowding was a problem, with waiting lists of over 5,000 in the 1930s and until joining the National Health Service, money had to be raised for extensions and new equipment - always difficult especially in the depression years. The Royal Victoria Infirmary has always had close links with the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University as a major teaching hospital. The RVI forms the hub of one of the four "clinical base units" for medical students at the university, where students spend the entire 3rd and 5th years of their medical degree.