Care system NHS Emergency department yes Number of beds 328 | Funding Public hospital Phone +44 1896 826000 Founded 1988 | |
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Location Melrose, Borders, Scotland Hospital type district general hospital Website Borders General Hospital Address Borders General Hospital Huntlyburn, Huntlyburn, Melrose TD6 9BS, UK Similar Western General Hospital, St John's Hospital - Livingston, Dumfries and Galloway, Victoria Hospital, Royal Alexandra Hospital | ||
Berwick upon tweed to the borders general hospital
Borders General Hospital (BGH), (locally known as the "BGH") is a district general hospital on the outskirts of Melrose, Scotland. It has 328 beds and offers a wide range of healthcare services.
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Services
It is the main hospital in the Scottish Borders and serves the counties of Selkirkshire, Roxburghshire, Peeblesshire and western Berwickshire. Other counties and Berwickshire are served by Berwick infirmary* and larger hospitals in the City of Edinburgh. It has an Accident and Emergency Department and a Macmillan Cancer Unit.
The Hospital is governed by NHS Borders, its Director of Nursing and executive board whom are sited at the board's HQ in nearby Newstead. Beside the Hospital, within the grounds, is the NHS Borders education and conference centre which comprises lecture theatres, the training and professional development department, the IT suite and a comprehensive library.
History
The hospital was designed and built to replace the ageing and unfit "Peel Hospital" of Caddonfoot near Galashiels; the former hospital which served first as a wartime hospital during World War 2 and was later expanded in line with NHS introduction and population expansion in the Scottish Borders. Borders General was built by John Laing & Son and opened in 1988 creating over 1000 jobs initially run by Borders General Hospital NHS Trust which was succeeded by NHS Borders.
It was also home to the Scottish Borders Campus of Napier University nursing college up until their service withdrawal in 2010/11. Current care services include general-medical and general-surgical receiving and assessment wards, a Department of medicine for the elderly (DME) unit, a children's ward (Ward 15 Noah's Ark), ENT suite, audiology, pre/peri and post-natal wards with a labour suite, theatre, Emergency department, dementia assessment unit, gynaecology ward, cafe (operated by WRVS) and large outpatients suite.
The Planned Surgical Admissions Unit opened in March 2011, affording patients a more suitable environment to go for routine surgical procedures. The renal dialysis unit major benefited from a major upgrade in June 2011 which included an increase in the number of dialysis machines from 6 to 12.
In January 2013 the Margaret Kerr Unit opened, providing dedicated palliative care facilities. The development provided a dedicated entrance, accommodation for patients and several large sun lounges.In March 2013 refurbishment to the stroke unit was completed. As part of a new outpatients department a new audiology suite opened in August 2013.
Transport
The Borders General Hospital is accessible via the A6091 road, which links the A7 and the A68, known colloquially as the Melrose Bypass. It is roughly five minutes from the town of Galashiels and two minutes from the small town of Melrose via Chiefswood Road and is served by buses from all Border towns run by First Bus and Perryman Buses.