Guy's Hospital is an

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust of the English National Health Service, one of the prestigious Shelford Group. It runs Guy's Hospital in London Bridge, St Thomas' Hospital in Waterloo, Evelina London Child ...

and one of the institutions that comprise the

King's Health Partners King's Health Partners is an academic health science centre located in London, United Kingdom. It comprises King's College London, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and South London and Ma ...

, an academic health science centre. It is a large

teaching hospital A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...

and is, with St Thomas' Hospital and

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed b ...

, the location of

King's College London GKT School of Medical Education GKT School of Medical Education (abbreviated: GKT) is the medical school of King's College London. The school has campuses at three institutions, Guy's Hospital (Southwark), King's College Hospital (Denmark Hill) and St Thomas' Hospital (Lambeth ...

. The hospital's Tower Wing (originally known as Guy's Tower) was, when built in 1974, the tallest hospital building in the world, standing at with 34 floors. The tower was overtaken as the world's tallest healthcare-related building by The Belaire in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1988. As of June 2019, the Tower Wing, which remains one of the tallest buildings in London, is the world's fifth-tallest hospital building.

History

The hospital dates from 1721, when it was founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy, who had made a fortune as a printer of Bibles and greatly increased it by speculating in the South Sea Bubble. It was originally established as a hospital to treat "incurables" discharged from St Thomas' Hospital. Guy had been a Governor and benefactor of St Thomas' and his fellow Governors supported his intention by granting the south-side of St Thomas' Street for a

peppercorn Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diamet ...

rent for 999 years. Following his death in 1724, Thomas Guy was entombed at the hospital's chapel (also dating from the 18th century), in a tomb featuring a marble sculpture by John Bacon. The original buildings formed a courtyard facing St Thomas Street, comprising the hall on the east side and the chapel, Matron's House and Surgeon's House on the west-side. The original main buildings were built by the King's Master Mason, John Deval, in 1739. A bequest of £180,000 by William Hunt in 1829, one of the largest charitable bequests in England in historic terms, allowed for a further hundred beds to be accommodated. Hunt's name was given to the southern expansion of the hospital buildings which took place in 1850. Two inner quadrangles were divided by a cloister which was later restyled and dedicated to the hospital's members who fell in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The east side comprised the care wards and the "counting house" with the governors' Burfoot Court Room. The north-side quadrangle is dominated by a statue of

Lord Nuffield William Richard Morris, 1st Viscount Nuffield, (10 October 1877 – 22 August 1963) was an English motor manufacturer and philanthropist. He was the founder of Morris Motors Limited and is remembered as the founder of the Nuffield Foundation, ...

(1877–1963) who was the chairman of governors for many years and also a major benefactor. In 1879-1880 the infamous 'Guy's Hospital dispute' between matron Margaret Burt and hospital medical staff highlighted how doctors sometimes felt that their authority was being challenged by new style matrons.

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, i ...

advocated trained matrons who had full control and discipline over their nursing staff. Margaret Burt ultimately resigned, but this was not an isolated episode and other matrons experienced similar issues, such as

Eva Luckes Eva Charlotte Ellis Luckes (8 July 1854 – 16 February 1919) was Matron of The London Hospital from 1880 to 1919. Early life Eva Abigail Charlotte Ellis Luckes (she herself spelled her name Lückes with the umlaut) was born in Exeter, Dev ...

. In 1974, the hospital added the 34-storey Guy's Tower and 29-storey Guy's House: this complex was designed by Watkins Gray. The Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, which is dedicated to improving outcomes of conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke,

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and

spinal cord injury A spinal cord injury (SCI) is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in its function. Symptoms may include loss of muscle function, sensation, or autonomic function in the parts of the body served by the spinal cor ...

, was opened by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...

in December 2004. In October 2005 children's departments moved to the

Evelina London Children's Hospital Evelina London Children's Hospital is a specialist NHS hospital in London. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and provides teaching hospital facilities for London South Bank University and King's College ...

in the grounds next to St Thomas's close to the Palace of Westminster. A new cancer centre, designed by

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners Rogers may refer to: Places Canada *Rogers Pass (British Columbia) * Rogers Island (Nunavut) United States * Rogers, Arkansas, a city * Rogers, alternate name of Muroc, California, a former settlement * Rogers, Indiana, an unincorporated communit ...

, and built by Laing O'Rourke at a cost of £160 million, was completed in April 2016. File:Passage inside Guy's Hospital.jpg, Interior passageway inside Guy's Hospital File:Mr Guys Hospital for Incurables.jpg, Early 18th century engraving File:Guy's Hospital00.jpg, 1820 Engraving of entrance by

James Elmes James Elmes (15 October 1782, London – 2 April 1862, Greenwich) was an English architect, civil engineer, and writer on the arts. Biography Elmes was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, and, after studying building under his father, and ar ...

and William Woolnoth File:Guy's and St. Thomas' Hospitals from 1833 Schmollinger map.jpg, The location of Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals, c. 1833 File:Guy's Hospital- Life in a London Hospital, England, 1941 D2330.jpg, Surgery is performed at Guy's in 1941 File:Northern Side of the War Memorial, Guy's Hospital.jpg, War memorial at Guy's Hospital

Facilities

Medical services at the Guy's site are now concentrated in the buildings to the east of Great Maze Pond: these buildings, which are connected, are known as Tower Wing, Bermondsey Wing, Southwark Wing and Borough Wing. The Cancer Centre is in a separate building just to the south. To the west of the Great Maze Pond is

Guy's Campus Guy's Campus is a campus of King's College London adjacent to Guy's Hospital and situated close to London Bridge and the Shard, on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is home to the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine and the Dent ...

which forms part of King's College London. At high, Guy's Tower (now called the Tower Wing) regained its tallest hospital building in the world status in 2014. It has since been surpassed by the Outpatient Center at the Houston Methodist Hospital, in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

, USA at .

Notable people who worked or studied at Guy's

* Harold Ackroyd, First World War recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

* Thomas Addison, discoverer of Addison's disease * Stephanie Amiel, diabetologist * John Belchier, surgeon * William Babington, founder member of the Geological Society *

Benjamin Guy Babington Benjamin Guy Babington (5 March 1794 – 8 April 1866) was an English physician and epidemiologist. Life He was born on 5 March 1794, the son of the physician and mineralogist William Babington (1756–1833) and his wife, Martha Elizabeth (née ...

invented the laryngoscope * Richard Bright, discoverer of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied ...

* John Butterfield, Baron Butterfield Professor of Experimental Medicine * Sydney Cohen, Professor of Chemical Pathology * Sir Astley Cooper, discoverer of the

Cooper's ligaments Cooper's ligaments (also known as the suspensory ligaments of Cooper and the fibrocollagenous septa) are connective tissue in the breast that help maintain structural integrity. They are named for Astley Cooper, who first described them in 1840. ...

of the

breast The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues. In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and sec ...

s *

Edward Cock Edward Cock (1805–1892) was a British surgeon. Early life Cock was a nephew of Sir Astley Cooper, and through him became at an early age a member of the staff of the Borough Hospital in London, where he worked in the dissecting room for 1 ...

, surgeon and nephew of Sir Astley Cooper * Dame Rachel Crowdy, Principal Commandant of Voluntary Aid Detachments in France and Belgium from 1914 to 1919 * C. S. Forester, English novelist, studied medicine at Guy's but did not graduate * John Frederick France, ophthalmic surgeon * Sir Alfred Downing Fripp, surgeon who was knighted for his part in the reform of the R.A.M.C. *

Abraham Pineo Gesner Abraham Pineo Gesner, ONB (; May 2, 1797 – April 29, 1864) was a Canadian physician and geologist who invented kerosene. Gesner was born in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia (now called Chipmans Corner) and lived much of his life in Saint John, New Bru ...

, surgeon and inventor of

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

refining * Sir

William Withey Gull Sir William Withey Gull, 1st Baronet (31 December 181629 January 1890) was an English physician. Of modest family origins, he established a lucrative private practice and served as Governor of Guy's Hospital, Fullerian Professor of Physiolog ...

, the first to describe myxoedema and coined the term

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa, often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by low weight, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. ''Anorexia'' is a term of Gr ...

* Edward Headlam Greenhow, physician, sanitarian and Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals lecturer * Thomas Michael Greenhow, surgeon and sanitarian * Georgiana Hill, cookery book writer, worked as a ward sister * Henry Bendelack Hewetson, ophtalmic and Aural surgeon * John Braxton Hicks, obstetrician, discoverer of the Braxton Hicks

uterine The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the organ in the reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic and fetal development of one or more embryos until birth. The ...

contractions * John Hilton,

anatomist Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

and surgeon * James Hinton, otologist *

Thomas Hodgkin Thomas Hodgkin RMS (17 August 1798 – 5 April 1866) was a British physician, considered one of the most prominent pathologists of his time and a pioneer in preventive medicine. He is now best known for the first account of Hodgkin's disease, ...

, discoverer of

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition w ...

* Sir Frederick Hopkins, discoverer of

vitamin A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrie ...

s *

James Jurin James Jurin FRS FRCP (baptised 15 December 168429 March 1750) was an English scientist and physician, particularly remembered for his early work in capillary action and in the epidemiology of smallpox vaccination. He was a staunch proponent o ...

, early work on

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evide ...

of the

smallpox vaccine The smallpox vaccine is the first vaccine to be developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox ...

* John Keats, poet * Thomas Wilkinson King, anatomical pathologist * Emily MacManus, Matron * J. F. O. Mustaffah, first Ghanaian Neurosurgeon *

Humphry Osmond Humphry Fortescue Osmond (1 July 1917 – 6 February 2004) was an English psychiatrist who expatriated to Canada, then moved to work in the United States. He is known for inventing the word ''psychedelic'' and for his research into interesting a ...

, psychiatrist who worked with

psychedelic drugs Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...

and coined the term *

Frederick William Pavy Frederick William Pavy (29 May 1829 – 19 September 1911) was a British physician and physiologist and the discoverer of Pavy disease, a cyclic or recurrent physiologic albuminuria. Life Pavy was born in Wroughton and educated at Merc ...

, worked with Richard Bright, one of the founders and presidents of the Medical and Chirurgical Society of London * Sir Edwin Cooper Perry Superintendent; Dean of the Medical School; 1st Warden of the Residential College * Sir

Alfred Poland Sir Alfred Poland (1822 – 1872) was a 19th-century British surgeon. He is now best known for the first account of the condition later known as Poland syndrome, a congenital deformity now described as an underdevelopment or absence of the ch ...

, the first to describe

Poland syndrome Poland syndrome is a birth defect characterized by an underdeveloped chest muscle and short webbed fingers on one side of the body. There may also be short ribs, less fat, and breast and nipple abnormalities on the same side of the body. Typical ...

* Philip Henry Pye-Smith, physician * Patricia Batty Shaw, social worker *

Devi Prasad Shetty Devi Prasad Shetty FRCS (born 8 May 1953) is an Indian entrepreneur and cardiac surgeon who is the chairman and founder of Narayana Health, a chain of 21 medical centers in India. He has performed more than 16,000 heart operations. In 2004 he w ...

, cardiac surgeon and founder of Narayana Hrudayalaya * Keith Simpson, Home Office Pathologist *

Jean Smellie Dr Jean McIldowie Smellie DM FRCP HonFRCPCH (14 May 1927 – 14 September 2020) was a British paediatrician. Smellie studied medicine at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and then at University College Hospital. From 1952 to 1961, she underwent ...

paediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

* Anthony Trafford, Baron Trafford,

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

MP, was student and later senior registrar * Gerard Folliott Vaughan, psychiatrist, who became a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and minister of state during

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

's government *

Iain West Iain West (25 April 1944 – 23 July 2001) was a British forensic pathologist. Early life West was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 25 April 1944, the son of a Squadron leader in the Royal Air Force. He was educated at Carre's Grammar School in Slea ...

, forensic pathologist * Sir Samuel Wilks *

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is con ...

, worked anonymously as a hospital porter during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

* Alan Menter, International Psoriasis Council, Founder

Arms

References

External links