The London Clinic is a private healthcare organisation and

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

based on the corner of

Devonshire Place Devonshire Place is a street in the City of Westminster, London, that runs from Marylebone Road in the north to Devonshire Street in the south. A number of literary and society figures have lived in the street. At the north of the street is The L ...

and

Marylebone Road Marylebone Road ( ) is an important thoroughfare in central London, within the City of Westminster. It runs east–west from the Euston Road at Regent's Park to the A40 Westway at Paddington. The road which runs in three lanes in both directio ...

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

. According to HealthInvestor, it is one of England's largest private hospitals.

History

The London Clinic was established by a group of Harley Street doctors; the building was designed by Charles Henry Biddulph-Pinchard and officially opened by the

Duchess of York Duchess of York is the principal courtesy title held by the wife of the duke of York. Three of the eleven dukes of York either did not marry or had already assumed the throne prior to marriage, whilst two of the dukes married twice, therefore t ...

in 1932. The Queen opened a new cancer centre, built at a cost of £80 million, at the London Clinic in April 2010. After an inspection in December 2014 by the

Food Standards Agency The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is led by a board ap ...

the organisation was given only two stars - the only hospital in London to perform so poorly - but the poor standard of hygiene was addressed and, after a further inspection in June 2015, the Clinic was awarded five stars. In November 2015 it secured a £65 million revolving credit facility from

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tr ...

which was used to increase theatre capacity, boost technology investment and renovate the radiology and intensive care facilities. In November 2017 the

Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care services in England. I ...

described the design of the new

intensive care unit 220px, Intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensi ...

and the annual multi-faith memorial service, which contributes to end of life services, as areas of "outstanding practice". The clinic opened a specialist centre for robotic surgery in 2019.

Notable patients

Clement Attlee Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, (3 January 18838 October 1967) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955. He was Deputy Prime Mini ...

: The

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

was admitted to the clinic for a

prostatectomy Prostatectomy (from the Greek , "prostate" and , "excision") as a medical term refers to the surgical removal of all or part of the prostate gland. This operation is done for benign conditions that cause urinary retention, as well as for pros ...

in September 1939. *

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...

: The

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...

was born in clinic at October 1966. *

Emma Walton Hamilton Emma Katherine Walton Hamilton (née Walton; 27 November 1962) is a British-American children's book author, theatrical director, and actress. She is an instructor in the MFA program at Stony Brook Southampton, where she serves as Director of ...

: The British children's book author and eldest daughter of English actress

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy F ...

was born in clinic in November 1962. * John F. Kennedy: The American

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

was diagnosed with

Addison's disease Addison's disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, is a rare long-term endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate production of the steroid hormones cortisol and aldosterone by the two outer layers of the cells of the adrena ...

at the clinic in September 1947. * Sir Anthony Eden: The

Foreign Secretary The secretary of state for foreign, Commonwealth and development affairs, known as the foreign secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), minister of the Crown of the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign, Commonwe ...

went into the London Clinic for a

cholecystectomy Cholecystectomy is the surgical removal of the gallbladder. Cholecystectomy is a common treatment of symptomatic gallstones and other gallbladder conditions. In 2011, cholecystectomy was the eighth most common operating room procedure performed i ...

in April 1953. *

Adnan Menderes Adnan Menderes (; 1899 – 17 September 1961) was a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister of Turkey between 1950 and 1960. He was one of the founders of the Democrat Party (DP) in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He ...

: The

Prime Minister of Turkey The prime minister of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı'') was the head of government of the Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Grand National Assembly of ...

recovered in the London Clinic after being involved in an air crash in February 1959. *

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

: In January 1963, the actress underwent an operation on her knee at the clinic. *

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

: The Queen's younger sister had an operation to remove a benign

skin lesion A skin condition, also known as cutaneous condition, is any medical condition that affects the integumentary system—the organ system that encloses the body and includes skin, nails, and related muscle and glands. The major function of th ...

in the clinic in January 1980. *

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

: It was at the London Clinic that General Augusto Pinochet, the former

dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in time ...

of Chile, was arrested in October 1998 for

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

on the basis of an international arrest warrant. * Wendy Richard: The actress died at the clinic on 26 February 2009 aged 65, where she was being treated for

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or ...

. *

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

: The Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to the clinic for 'abdominal investigations' in June 2013. *

Cecil Parkinson Cecil Edward Parkinson, Baron Parkinson, (1 September 1931 – 22 January 2016) was a British Conservative Party politician and cabinet minister. A chartered accountant by training, he entered Parliament in November 1970, and was appointed a ...

: The former

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

chairman and cabinet minister died at the clinic on 22 January 2016 aged 84, where he was being treated for

cancer of the colon Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel m ...

References

External links

The London Clinic website
*
CQC inspection results for The London Clinic
{{DEFAULTSORT:London Clinic, The Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Health charities in the United Kingdom Health in the City of Westminster Private hospitals in the United Kingdom Harley Street Hospitals in London

History

Notable patients

See also

References

External links