Booth Hall Children's Hospital

Booth Hall was built during the early 17th century by Humphrey Booth, a Salford man noted for his philanthropy. The original hall building was demolished in 1907 and the site was acquired by Prestwich Poor Law Union for the construction of a new general-purpose infirmary in 1908.[1] It cared for the poor, and from 1914 for wounded soldiers from the First World War. It reverted to being a children's hospital in 1926. It had 750 beds in 1929 and was the third largest children's hospital in the UK. It incorporated a 102-bed convalescent home. It had 160 tuberculosis beds at a home in North Wales. The infirmary was equipped to give sunlight treatment to orthopaedic cases.[2] The hospital was emptied at the start of the Second World War and made ready for expected air-raid casualties. It joined the National Health Service in 1948.[3][4]

A renal dialysis unit was opened by Princess Michael of Kent in 1980.[3] After services transferred to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Booth Hall Children's Hospital closed on 12 June 2009.[5]

It provided paediatric specialist services, general paediatric services and had a paediatric accident and emergency department, providing paediatric surgery, orthopaedic surgery, plastic surgery and a paediatric burns unit, gastroenterology, respiratory medicine and diabetology. It had a high dependency unit and a transitional care unit for long term, usually ventilated, patients.[6]