 University hospital Aachen  University hospital Aachen, front view
The Klinikum Aachen, full German name "Universitätsklinikum Aachen"
(University Hospital Aachen), abbreviated UKA, formerly known as "Neues
Klinikum", is a very large hospital in Aachen (Germany). It is part of
the RWTH Aachen and contains its whole medical faculty.
Seen from far away, for many visitors the Klinikum Aachen looks like an oil
refinery rather than a hospital. Due to problems during construction, the 25
lift and supply towers are much higher than the highest storeys. Ubiquitous
huge striped ventilation pipes are attached to the outer walls.
The Klinikum Aachen contains many specialised clinics, theoretical and clinical
institutes and other research facilities, lecture halls, schools for jobs in
the medical field, and all facilities necessary for a hospital like a laundry
and central sterilisation.
It is the biggest single-building hospital in Europe.
History
In 1966 the faculty of medicine at the RWTH Aachen was founded. Automatically
the municipal hospitals in Aachen became university hospitals, but soon it was
realised that they were too small.
In 1972 the constructions of the Klinikum Aachen began. Ten years later the
first rooms could be used by the faculty. The rest of the building was
finished section by section. The constructions were delayed due to problems
with too soft ground material that could not sustain the whole building. So
eventually not all storeys were realised.
The official opening was celebrated in 1985. Its original name was "Neues
Klinikum" (New Klinikum) because there was already a hospital called "Klinikum"
in Aachen. That doesn't exist anymore, so it was renamed.
Facts and Figures
| annual inpatients
| 48,000
|
| annual outpatients
| 111,000
|
| professors
| 67
|
| scientific staff
| 1200
|
| non-scientific staff
| 5000
|
| clinics
| 33
|
| institutes
| 21
|
| rooms
| 6600
|
External links
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