The hospital has its origins in the Ballymena Union Workhouse and Infirmary which was designed by George Wilkinson and completed in 1843.[2] The building cost £7,800, including furnishing of the interior of the building. On 3 November 1843, the building was officially declared suitable for opening.[2] Following this, two weeks later on 17 November, the first inmates were admitted to the workhouse.[2] The entrance block was subsequently demolished but the main building and the fever building survived and evolved to become the Braid Valley Hospital.[3]
A business case for a new Ballymena Health and Care Centre on the Braid Valley Hospital Site was approved by the Department of Health in March 2012.[4] The building, which was designed by a combination of Glaswegian practices Keppie Design and Hoskins Architects, was built by O'Hare and McGovern, who are based in Newry in Northern Ireland, at a cost of £25 million.[4] Covering an area of approximately 9,000m2, it is the largest of its kind in Northern Ireland. The Health Minister, Simon Hamilton officially opened the new facility in 2016.[4]
