THE MONTH of moving for Glasgow's hospitals nears the half way mark as a second hospital closes.

The Victoria Infirmary A&E department closed its doors at 8am this morning (Saturday 16 May) as it became the second Glasgow hospital to transfer its A&E services to the new South Glasgow University Hospital (SGUH).

Inpatients will also be moved to the SGUH over the weekend of 16 and 17 May with patients in the Mansionhouse Unit moving over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th May. The majority of adult acute services from the Victoria will be moved into the SGUH by the end of the month.

The closure follows on from the Southern General which closed its A&E department two weeks ago on 2 May.

The Western Infirmary is next in line to move its A&E which will close on Saturday 30 May at 8am and the A&E at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children will close on June 10 at 8am.

Robert Calderwood, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Chief Executive, said: "The new SGUH and new RHSC have been a long time in the planning and construction, and I am delighted that they are now complete.

"We have already moved inpatients from the old Southern General into the new hospital and this weekend will be another step towards the new hospitals being fully operational and revolutionising healthcare for patients

"We hope that the inpatients who move to the new hospital this weekend are as pleased with it as we are."

The Victoria Infirmary opened in 1890 and was named after Queen Victoria who helped with the fundraising of the hospital by lending her backing. The president of Glasgow Southern Medical Society, Dr Ebenezer Duncan, was behind the proposal for a hospital in the south side due to huge population growth around the Clyde during the industrial revolution.

Bequests and donations paid for the hospital and its running costs. Churches, businesses and workers' associations gave money to the hospital as well. Contributions meant that donors could give sick

employees or acquaintances "lines of admission" to the hospital which were necessary for admission except for accident and emergency cases.

In 1948 the hospital officially became part of the NHS resulting in a soaring workload as people who had not been able to afford healthcare could be treated under the NHS.

When the proposal to close the hospital and move services to the SGUH was announced in the 90s the people of the south side voiced their opposition and organised a "Save the Vicky" campaign. As a result all the wards were fully renovated between 2000 and 2004 however the decision was eventually taken that a specially designed purpose built hospital would provide the best health care.