The hospital opened in 1920. The United States Army constructed nissen huts on the site during the Second World War to create a temporary base for soldiers preparing to take part in the Normandy Landings. The hospital has played its part in the history of The Troubles. On 15 December 1980, Sean McKenna, one of the original seven hunger strikers was moved to Musgrave Park Hospital. On 2 November 1991, a bomb planted by the Provisional IRA exploded in the Military Wing at Musgrave Park hospital. Two soldiers were killed and 11 other people were injured, among them a five-year-old girl and a baby of four months. The of Semtex exploded in a service tunnel connecting the Withers block, containing orthopaedic and children's wards and the Military Wing. The dead and injured were watching a rugby match on television in the Military Wing's social club. The original military nissen huts, which had housed various hospital departments during their lifetime, were demolished to make way for the new Regional Acquired Brain Injury Unit which opened in 2006.
Hospital Services
Hospital services include:
Specialist units
The Orthopaedics Unit makes the hospital one of the leading orthopaedic and musculoskeletal centres of excellence in Europe. It consists of 6 orthopaedic wards; 4 adult, 1 children and 1 ward specialising in spinal injuries. The wards are named for Mr. J Withers, orthopaedic surgeon and one of the founders of the Northern Ireland Council for Orthopaedic Development.
The Rheumatology Unit treats people with bone and joint disease. It is the leading centre for the treatment of rheumatic disease in Northern Ireland.
The Diagnostic Imaging Services Unit offers a new full-body MRI scanner which aims to scan an additional 5,500 patients each year.
Meadowlands is a rehabilitation unit which specialises in Care of Old People. It has a particular focus on the rehabilitation of patients following fractures.
The MITRE Trust Rehabilitation Unit was officially opened in May 2005 by Ireland Rugby player, David Humphreys. The 40,000 ft² building cost £3.5 million to build and is purpose-built to provide regional orthopaedic and rehabilitation physiotherapy services. Musgrave Park also boasts a custom hip-manufacturing unit on-site, one of only five such facilities in the world.
The Acquired Brain Injury Unit was opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on 14 May 2006. The £9 million pound state-of-the-art complex provides specialist care and intensive rehabilitation physiotherapy for 25 inpatients and 15 outpatients with traumatic brain injuries. These patients were previously being treated in Forster Green Hospital. The centre is also surrounded by high quality landscaped gardens designed to play a role in healing and patient rehabilitation.
