Broadgreen Hospital lies in the eastern suburb of Broadgreen, within the city of Liverpool, England. It operates alongside the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and the Liverpool University Dental Hospital as part of NHS University Hospitals of Liverpool Group, making it one of three linked teaching hospitals in the city.
From Epileptic Home to NHS Hospital
The building’s history stretches back to 1903, when it opened as an epileptic home under the name Highfield Infirmary. By 1922 it had been repurposed as the Highfield Sanatorium, treating tuberculosis patients, and in 1929 it was renamed the Broadgreen Sanatorium. When the National Health Service was formed in 1946, the facility joined it and took its current name. Decades later, a 1989 review of Liverpool’s health provision prompted the local health authority to close Broadgreen’s accident and emergency department and consolidate emergency care at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. The decision drew strong opposition from the public, hospital staff, local GPs and politicians, but the A&E department was wound down in phases from 1994 and shut permanently in 1996.
A Notable Chapter in Football History
Bill Shankly, the manager who transformed Liverpool Football Club into one of England’s foremost clubs, died at Broadgreen Hospital in September 1981 following a heart attack. His death at the hospital gave the building an unexpected place in the wider story of the city.
Facilities on Site
Among the non-clinical facilities available at the hospital are a café run by the Royal Voluntary Service, a restaurant, vending machines and free cash points for patients and visitors.