The original acute hospital in Wakefield was established as part of the Stanley Royd Hospital and opened on 8 March 1900.[1] It was briefly renamed Wakefield Emergency Hospital before becoming Pinderfields General Hospital in the 1940s.[1] The name derives from the Pinder of Wakefield, the townsmen in charge of impounding stray animals who were tasked with ensuring that no-one dare trespass on Wakefield under their watchful eyes.[1]
A new hospital, to be known as the Pinderfields Hospital, was procured under a Private Finance Initiative contract to replace Pinderfields General Hospital in 2007. The new hospital, which was designed by the Building Design Partnership[2] and built by Balfour Beatty,[3] cost around £150 million.[4] It was completed in June 2010.[5] and was opened by the Princess Royal in September 2011.[6]
In January 2018, with overcrowding becoming a serious issue at many hospitals, patients were pictured sleeping on the bare floors of Pinderfields Hospital.[7]
