On 6 February Her Majesty The Queen became the first British Monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years of service. As part of the Jubilee celebrations this week, we are shining a light on our hospitals, wards, and buildings with a Royal connection.

One of the first hospitals named after Queen Elizabeth II was The Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Hospital in Exeter, opened on 16 November 1927 by the then Duchess of York, using a ‘golden key’ for the occasion. It was named after her infant daughter, Princess Elizabeth, the present Queen.

The area the hospital served included Devon, North Cornwall and Lyme Regis. Soon, clinics in Barnstaple, Honiton, Okehampton, Torquay and Tiverton were referring patients to the Exeter facility. By the end of 1928, the hospital had admitted 125 children and young people. In 1932, the hospital was extended, and an annexe added.

The site has had not one, but two visits from HM The Queen – the first of which was one of her very first public engagements as HRH Princess Elizabeth in 1946. The second visit took place on 9 November 1979, when the Queen was accompanied by His Royal Highness Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh, during which they toured hospital wards and met staff and patients.

The first Chief Surgeon at The Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Hospital was Brennan Dyball, an established surgeon at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

The hospital also pioneered the ‘Exeter Hip’, developed in 1969 by the hospital’s Professor Robin Ling and the engineer Clive Lee of Exeter University.

Jonathan Howell, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said: “The Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Centre is home to a number of innovations, with the most notable being the Exeter hip replacement, which started over 50 years ago and is now used across the globe.

“Over two million patients worldwide have benefitted from an Exeter hip, relieving their pain and enabling them to return to the things they enjoy such as gardening, hiking, swimming, tennis, golf, water sports and skiing.

“It is such a privilege for us at PEOC to be custodians of a legacy like this, and so rewarding for us to be able to improve the quality of life for so many people.”

In 2010, the device had its millionth implantation, with 40 years of clinical use and was nominated the ‘Which? Device of the Year’. When the new Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital was built in the 1990s, the Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Hospital moved into new facilities.

Today, The Princess Elizabeth Orthopaedic Centre (PEOC) is known for its clinical excellence and innovation and is a regional referral centre for complex cases. The centre has five operating theatres and carries out elective orthopaedic surgery including hip, knee, spinal, and shoulder, and treats children’s joints, muscles, and bones.

Sarah Taverner, Clinical Matron for PEOC at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said:

“I hold the team and the department in very high esteem for what they do and the great service they deliver. The strong work ethic and camaraderie makes this one of the most cohesive and inclusive teams I’ve worked with.”