St. James's University Hospital is in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England and is popularly known as Jimmy's being one of the United Kingdom's most famous hospitals, due to its coverage on television. It is managed by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.
History
The hospital has its origins in the Leeds Moral and Industrial Training School built in 1848. Subsequent early developments included the Leeds Union Workhouse built in 1858. The chapel, which is a Grade II listed building, was completed in 1861 by the firm of Perkin & Beckhouse, of Leeds, and the Leeds Union Infirmary was built in 1874. By the end of the 19th century, the facilities were largely used for medical care of the poor, rather than as a workhouse. During the First World War it was called the East Leeds War Hospital, caring for armed services personnel. From 1881 the Medical Superintendent of the Leeds Union Infirmary was Dr James Allen. On his retirement in 1925, the infirmary was renamed St James's Hospital, to honour him, and also Sir James Ford, of the Leeds Board of Guardians, who had overseen the conversion from workhouse to hospital. The hospital expanded following the creation of the National Health Service in 1948 and the site was redeveloped during the 1960s. It was one of the hospitals investigated in 1967 as a result of the publication of Barbara Robb's book "Sans Everything". Accusations were made against a State Enrolled Nurse including "assaults; the deliberate act of making an elderly female patient inebriated by means of brandy which had been issued to the ward; swearing at patients; mischievously and maliciously squirting spirit onto the bodies of elderly patients in order to give them shocks". There were also allegations of neglect and inefficiency, which were subsequently determined to have been unfounded. In 1970, following expansion of Leeds School of Medicine, it was renamed St James's University Hospital. The Chancellor's Wing, which included a new Accident and Emergency Department, was opened by the then Chancellor of the University of Leeds, the Duchess of Kent, in February 1972. A new oncology building, the Bexley Wing, containing the St James's Institute of Oncology was procured under a Private Finance Initiative contract in 2004. It was designed by Anshen & Allen and built by Bovis Lend Lease at a cost of £265 million and accepted its first patients in December 2007. It was officially opened by the Princess Royal on 17 July 2008. The building is one of Europe's largest cancer centres, with 1,600 staff and 350 beds. In 2010, all children's emergency department were moved to Leeds General Infirmary, which meant the loss of this service at St James's. The emergency department at St James's is now just for adults.
Facilities
All of the hospital buildings except Chancellor's Wing, which was named after the Duchess of Kent, a former Chancellor of the University of Leeds, are named after surrounding streets in the Leeds suburb of Harehills:
The hospital is one of six centres which conduct liver transplants. St James's was the location of the first living-related donor Liver transplantation on the NHS. The University of Leeds has a large presence at the St James's Hospital site with a new molecular medicine centre, the Wellcome Trust Brenner building. There is a notable cystic fibrosis unit in the Gledhow wing which offers specialist inpatient and outpatient services and research, and has its own method of management guidelines called the "Cystic Fibrosis Leeds method of management". The Thackray Medical Museum adjoins the hospital site and is located in the Grade II listed former main building of the Leeds Union Workhouse.
''Jimmy's'' TV series
St. James's University Hospital fame derives in part from its extensive television coverage in the documentary series also titled "Jimmy's", produced by Yorkshire Television between 1987 and 1996 for ITV.
