Royal Infirmary and Central Outpatients

Staff at the Royal Infirmary and Central Outpatients continue to provide high quality care to the people of North Staffordshire. However, these services will transfer to the new hospital on the City General site in 2011 and 2012. Once all of the patients services and support services have been transfered, the sites are likely to be developed into housing. However, the Royal Infirmary will not be forgotten...

If Wards Could Talk

The Trust has been collecting experiences from people of all ages from the last 50 years. The Trust was awarded 50,000 pounds from the Heritage Lottery Fund to preserve some of the culture and history of the hospital.

'If Wards Could Talk' aimed to record peoples memories and experience of the hospitals. Ian Lawley, a historian and former Stoke-on-Trent museums director, has led the project. He said: "Stoke-on-Trent's hospitals have a long history. Remains of a mediaeval hospital were found at the City General site, which also includes the former parish workhouse buildings. The Royal Infirmary at Hartshill was one of the earliest hospitals to be built on the pavilion system favoured by Florence Nightingale. A lot of people in North Staffordshire feel a connection with the hospitals."

Over the past 18 months, the Trust has recorded and filmed interviews with staff and the public. These are currently being collated into a film and will be premieried later in 2011.