UHW is a family affair for paediatrician
The University Hospital of Wales has played an important role in the lives of countless families from Cardiff, across Wales and beyond.
For one man it has been a focal point for his working life and family history.
Roger Verrier-Jones is the son of one of the driving forces that helped turn UHW from a dream into reality.
Mr Alan Trevor Jones was so instrumental in its creation that he had the honour of cutting the first sod.
Mr Verrier-Jones has spent most of his working life in and around his father’s legacy – helping thousands of children through his work as a paediatrician.
He knows the rich history of UHW better than most.
“The hospital had a long gestation, 20 years, 1951 when it was first projected to 1971 when it was actually opened.
“It was at first projected that it would be a hospital of 1,500 beds but this was reduced to 800 beds because it was felt that 1,500 was just too big. But even that was far and away the biggest hospital in Wales and really one of the biggest in the country.
“The idea was that it would be a flagship for Wales. People like my father fought hard for funding so that it could be like a hotel and the fittings would be state of the art and would be as good as they possibly were. So not only would the medical equipment and theatres and so on be superb, but the building and interior decorating would be as good as possible”
Mr Verrier-Jones said that UHW was a pioneer when it was first built, having doctors caring and teaching the next generation of medics.
He said that the design of the hospital meant that medical students could see doctors in action and learn first hand in a real life environment.
Mr Verrier-Jones said: “For instance, you’d have a surgical ward and then you’d have a communication area where perhaps a professor of surgery and his laboratory or areas for teaching would be and that’s the idea.
“That was relatively new in this country in Britain. I think it’s true to say the Cardiff experiment was the first in Britain to have the concept of clinical care and medical teaching on the same site.”
The UHW site has grown immensely since it first opened in 1971 but Mr Verrier-Jones believes it has stayed true to his father’s vision.
He said: “I think he would be extremely pleased with the developments that have gone on at the hospital.
“He always saw this as, dare I say it, state of the art at the time but he was a man of vision and I think he could see in the 1960s that medical care, hospitals, in 40 years time would not be the same. They would change, they would improve, and I think this is what’s happened in the UHW. It’s changed and it’s improved and I think he would definitely approve of that.”
