Page 11 - The Princess Mary's Hospital 40pp book.pdf

An overview, from opening to closure
On its opening in 1963 the hospital had 155 beds, but by 1972 the bed numbers had expanded to 170, with the addition of a purpose-built Intensive Therapy Unit. At the peak of its activity in the early 1970s, TPMH was handling 20,000 outpatients and 5,000 inpatients each year, reaching its busiest time during the Greek coup and Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974. With the closure of the British Military Hospital at Dhekelia in 1978, TPMH became joint service under RAF command. As the numbers of Services personnel in Cyprus dropped following the end of the Cold War, the hospital’s capacity reduced accordingly.
In its last few years, while retaining the capability to expand into unused wards in emergency, TPMH concentrated its inpatient services onto one maternity ward (Ward 4, with about 150 deliveries per annum) and one 22- bed adult ward (Ward 6). By 2012 there were rarely as many as five patients in hospital overnight, with most inpatients being day cases.
Hospital activity in the last full year of clinical work (1 August 2011–31 July 2012) had dropped to 5,000 outpatients. There were 894 inpatient admissions. There were 132 paediatric admissions to the Polyclinic.
The last full day of clinical activity at TPMH was 31 October 2012. Inpatient and outpatient services transferred to the Ygia Polyclinic in Limassol on
1 November 2012, with some retained services (ie physiotherapy and community mental health) moving to new premises in the Akrotiri Station Health Centre. TPMH is scheduled for formal closure in its 50th year, in April 2013, though the future of the building itself is uncertain.
Photograph above is an aerial view of TPMH’s coastal position and below is the Ygia Polyclinic, Limassol
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