Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major

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 ...

in White City, West London. It is part of

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is an NHS trust based in London, England. It is one of the largest NHS trusts in England and together with Imperial College London forms an academic health science centre. The trust was formed in October 200 ...

in the

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan Boroughs of Hammersmith and Fulham. The borou ...

, and is associated with the Imperial College Faculty of Medicine. Confusingly the hospital is not in Hammersmith but is located in White City adjacent to

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough, ...

and East Acton.

History

Origins

The hospital's origins begin in 1902, when the Hammersmith

Poor Law Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...

decided to erect a new

workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...

and infirmary on a site at the north side of Du Cane Road somewhat to the north of Shepherd's Bush. The land, adjacent to

Wormwood Scrubs Prison HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs (nicknamed "The Scrubs") is a Category B men's local prison, located opposite Hammersmith Hospital and W12 Conferences on Du Cane Road in the White City in West London, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's ...

, was purchased for £14,500 from the

Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorized to determine the distribution of revenues of the Chu ...

. A temporary corrugated iron building was erected on the site in 1902 to provide care for victims of a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

epidemic that had taken place in the winter of 1901–2. The buildings were designed by the firm of Giles, Gough and Trollope. Circle of Life - geograph

World War I

In February 1916, during 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 patients were moved to other establishments and the site was taken over by the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

for use as the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, to care for wounded soldiers, largely thanks to the efforts of the noted surgeon Robert Jones. At that time the Joint War Committee awarded the hospital the sum of £1,000 to begin its work, soon followed in 1918 by a further grant of £10,000. The hospital was also supported by donations from the public. Part of the rehabilitation process involved putting the recovering patients to work in local shops, a policy which does not appear to have been entirely popular among the soldiers themselves.

Inter-war era

Later it was renamed the Special Surgical Hospital, and in 1919 became the Ministry of Pensions Hospital. In April 1925 demands by the Hammersmith Guardians for return of their property finally succeeded and the site became Hammersmith Hospital. By 1930, the infirmary could accommodate 300 patients.

World War II

During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

the hospital amassed expertise on the effects of crush syndrome and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

as a result of treating air raid victims. The hospital refectory was completely destroyed during one air raid.

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include " My Generation", " Pinball Wizard", " Won't Get Fooled ...

, the singer and actor, was born at the hospital in 1944. The hospital was home to the first medical

linear accelerator A linear particle accelerator (often shortened to linac) is a type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged subatomic particles or ions to a high speed by subjecting them to a series of oscillating electric potentials along a linear ...

in the world at the MRC's Radiotherapeutic Research Unit, where the first patient was treated in 1953. The Commonwealth Building, which included the postgraduate medical school, the Wellcome Library and some research departments, was opened by

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

in May 1966.

Modern era

Until 1997 the hospital was the home of the

Royal Postgraduate Medical School The Royal Postgraduate Medical School (RPMS) was an independent medical school, based primarily at Hammersmith Hospital in west London. In 1988, the school merged with the Institute of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and in 1997 became part of Imperial ...

, which then became part of Imperial College. The Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology (IRDB) was established by Professor

Lord Winston Robert Maurice Lipson Winston, Baron Winston, (born 15 July 1940) is a British professor, medical doctor, scientist, television presenter and Labour Party politician. Early life Robert Winston was born in London to Laurence Winston and Rut ...

on the site in 2001. In October 2007

Imperial College Healthcare Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust is an NHS trust based in London, England. It is one of the largest NHS trusts in England and together with Imperial College London forms an academic health science centre. The trust was formed in October 20 ...

and Imperial College formed the first academic health science centre from resources that included the academic expertise of Hammersmith Hospital and St Mary's Hospital.

Facilities

Hammersmith Hospital is internationally renowned for clinical research. Its clinical reputation was built on the treatment of medical conditions notably of the heart and kidney. It is also famous for its significant role in creating the specialty of

Endocrine surgery Endocrine surgery is a surgical sub-speciality focusing on surgery of the endocrine glands, including the thyroid gland, the parathyroid glands, the adrenal glands, glands of the endocrine pancreas, and some neuroendocrine glands. Types Thyro ...

(the first international course on Endocrine Surgery was held here by Professors Selwyn Taylor and Richard Welbourn in 1971). Its services now include the Heart Attack Centre (Primary PCI Centre) for North West London, a

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

wing (The Catherine Lewis Centre) the Department of Thyroid and Endocrine Surgery (serving North West London and pan-UK referrals and hosting the Selwyn Taylor Fellow) and the West London Renal and Transplant Centre. The Medical Research Council (MRC) also has a major presence at Hammersmith Hospital through the London Institute of Medical Sciences providing a strong foundation for clinical and scientific research, with extensive research and development of imaging techniques.

References

External links

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust's official siteAerial photo at Google Maps
{{authority control Imperial College Healthcare NHS hospitals in London White City, London Poor law infirmaries Military hospitals in the United Kingdom