Located just to the east of the East Ayrshire village of Crosshouse and 1¼ miles (2 km) west of Kilmarnock, Crosshouse Hospital is the principal general hospital in North and East Ayrshire. The first patient was treated in late 1981, as the hospital progressively opened departments, and the old Kilmarnock Infirmary closed in 1982. Crosshouse was officially opened by the Secretary of State for Scotland, George Younger (1931 - 2003) on 2nd June 1984. A partnership with the University of the West of Scotland brought a change in name to University Hospital Crosshouse in 2012.
The hospital has 511 beds and includes accident and emergency facilities, together with the Alexander Fleming Education Centre, which provides training facilities. A medical team led by Dr. Raj Singh performed one of the world's first cochlear implants here on 23rd March 1989.
