The original hospital on the site, known as the Walsgave Hospital, opened in stages: the maternity unit opened in 1966, the general unit opened in 1969 and the psychiatric unit opened in 1973. It was demolished in spring 2007. A new hospital was procured under a Private Finance Initiative contract to replace the Walsgrave Hospital and the Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital in 2002. The hospital was designed by Nightingale Associates and built by Skanska at a cost of £440 million. Construction started in July 2002 and the hospital opened on 10 July 2006. Skanska subsequently sold its stake to Innisfree for £66 million. The hospital is equipped with 1,250 beds and 27 operating theatres. On 26 March 2012, the hospital was designated as one of four trauma units in the West Midlands Region. In 2012, the planning committee approved an application to build a new car park at the hospital, to help improve ongoing congestion and traffic issues. The trust was one of 26 responsible for half of the national growth in patients waiting more than four hours in accident and emergency over the 2014/5 winter.
Performance
It was named by the Health Service Journal as one of the top hundred NHS trusts to work for in 2015. At that time it had 6198 full-time equivalent staff and a sickness absence rate of 3.99%. 70% of staff recommend it as a place for treatment and 64% recommended it as a place to work. An 84 year old man fell off a trolley and died after a 6 hour trolley wait in October 2019. His daughter says he would still be alive if he had been prioritised, if her pleas for help had not been ignored and if doctors had seen him, and not only nurses.
Coventry Hospital Radio
The hospital plays host to Coventry Hospital Radio, a free station provided through the Hospedia bedside units and now online via their website. The station started broadcasting in 1972 after a patient wanted to hear a Coventry City FC match. Coventry Hospital Radio did provide commentary on every match until the move to the Ricoh Arena in 2005. Since 2016 the Saturday afternoon sports show has provided the latest football scores and rugby scores plus other sporting action. The station is run by volunteers and managed by an elected committee. The station is situated on the 5th floor and is available to all wards and online via the web providing music, entertainment and chat 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In 2019, Coventry Hospital Radio was shortlisted for three National HBA Radio Awards. Radio presenter, Dan Sambell, won a Gold award for "Best Male Presenter" and husband and wife team Colin and Annette Gutteridge were awarded Bronze for Programme With Multiple Presenters.
The Meriden Hospital
is a private hospital run by BMI Healthcare. It is situated within the hospital complex and opposite to the NHS hospital.
