page_title: Dudley
section_title: Medical
hierarchical_section_title: Dudley / Public services / Medical
caption_attribution_description: English: The UK's Joseph Guest Hospital Victorian wing.
context_page_description: Dudley is a large industrialised market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, 6 miles south-east of Wolverhampton and 10.5 miles north-west of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley and in 2011 had a population of 79,379. The Metropolitan Borough, which includes the towns of Stourbridge and Halesowen, had a population of 312,900. Dudley is sometimes called the capital of the Black Country.
  Originally a market town, Dudley was one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution and grew into an industrial centre in the 19th century with its iron, coal, and limestone industries before their decline and the relocation of its commercial centre to the nearby Merry Hill Shopping Centre in the 1980s. Tourist attractions include Dudley Zoo and Castle, the 12th century priory ruins, and the Black Country Living Museum.
context_section_description: Dudley is currently served by several major National Health Service facilities. The oldest, the Guest Hospital, was initially created as a charity hospital by the Earl of Dudley in 1849 to accommodate blinded miners. It was taken over by local chainmaker Joseph Guest in 1871, and converted for general hospital use. It remained in use throughout the twentieth century, but was downgraded to an outpatient-only centre in the 2000s following the construction of a new block; the original hospital site has since been redeveloped for private housing in 2018.
  The town's other general hospital, Russells Hall, was constructed in 1976, but financial difficulties prevented it from opening until 1983. A major expansion of the hospital was completed in 2005 when it incorporated all inpatient services from the other hospitals in the borough. It now serves as the main hospital for the Dudley area.
  Bushey Fields Hospital provides psychiatric care for the borough. It was developed adjacent to Russells Hall in the 1980s and early 1990s to replace facilities at Burton Road Hospital. Approximately one mile west of the town centre, Burton Road Hospital was built in the mid-19th century as a workhouse, before becoming a hospital in 1859. It closed in December 1993, and was demolished the following year.
  The town's ambulance station was opened on land adjacent to Burton Road Hospital in 1986.
  
  In October 2006, Dudley Beacon and Castle Primary Care Trust and Dudley South Primary Care Trust merged to become Dudley Primary Care Trust. As of January 2012, it is chaired by Gill Cooper.
caption: The Joseph Guest Hospital's Victorian wing, pictured in 2011.
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