Care system Public NHS Speciality Oxford Eye Hospital Number of beds 275 Affiliated university University of Oxford | Hospital type Specialist Closed 2007 Founded 1770 | |
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Location Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom Emergency department No Accident & Emergency Address Ewert House, Ewert Pl, Oxford OX2 7SG, UK Similar John Radcliffe Hospital, Radcliffe Observatory, Horton General Hospital, Macdonald Randolph Hotel, Sheldonian Theatre | ||
The Radcliffe Infirmary was a hospital in central north Oxford, England, located at the southern end of Woodstock Road on the western side, backing onto Walton Street.
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The Radcliffe Infirmary, named after physician John Radcliffe, opened in 1770 and was Oxford's first hospital. It was finally closed in 2007.
Radcliffe infirmary site in oxford
History
In 1758, the initial proposals to build a hospital in Oxford were put forward at a meeting of the Radcliffe Trustees, who were administering John Radcliffe's estate. £4,000 was made available for the new hospital, which was constructed on land given by Thomas Rowney, one of the two Members of Parliament for Oxford.
The fountain in front of the main infirmary building was introduced in 1858 and is of the Greek god Triton.
A number of pioneering moments in medical history occurred at the hospital. Penicillin was first tested on patients on 27 January 1941. The first Utah Array (later known as the BrainGate) implantation in a human (Kevin Warwick) took place on 14 March 2002.
The site was also the location of the Oxford Eye Hospital and the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology (NLO). Both were transferred to the John Radcliffe Hospital in 2007, and are now located in the West Wing complex.
The Infirmary was acquired by the University of Oxford in 2003 and closed for medical use in 2007 with services being transferred to purpose-built buildings at the John Radcliffe and Churchill Hospitals in nearby Headington. The site was earmarked to consolidate the senior administrative offices of the University of Oxford. It was redeveloped by the University as the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter, with planning permission approval in 2009. It now forms the Philosophy Library, replacing the old library on Merton Street. The Mathematical Institute and the Blavatnik School of Government are now located on the site.
The Woodstock Road entrance of the hospital was frequently seen in the ITV television series Inspector Morse.