The Gordon Hospital is a 55-bed acute adult mental health hospital located in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, London. It is managed by the Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust.

History

The hospital was founded at 278 Vauxhall Bridge Road as the Western Hospital for Fistula, Piles and other Diseases of the Rectum in 1884. In 1886 it changed its name in honour of Major-General Charles Gordon, also known as ''Gordon of Khartoum''. During the 1930s the hospital gained an international reputation for the treatment of

colon cancer 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 mo ...

. Later in that decade the building underwent extensive reconstruction and extension much of it funded by the racehorse owner, John Arthur Dewar, nephew of Lord Dewar. It closed 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 opposin ...

but reopened in 1947 as a mental health hospital under its current name. When it joined the

National Health Service 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 " ...

, it merged with the erstwhile

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...

. Today the main entrance is on Bloomburg Street.

Facilities

There are three inpatient wards, Gerrard Ward, Ebury Ward and Vincent Ward, which provide care for adults undergoing assessment or treatment for mental health conditions. The hospital also has a designated "health-based

place of safety Removal to a place of safety is a form of detention. Australia Queensland As to Queensland, see sections 25 to 27 of the Mental Health Act 1974. Tasmania As to Tasmania, see sections 99 and 100 of the Mental Health Act 1963 (No 63). United K ...

" suite and an outpatients department. There was a

psychiatric intensive care unit Psychiatric Intensive Care Units or PICUs are specialist twenty-four hour inpatient wards that provide intensive assessment and comprehensive treatment to individuals during the most acute phase of a serious mental illness. Most individuals ...

(Belgrave Ward) until 2013 when this was closed as part of service reconfigurations.

2020 Covid 19 emergency

Early in the

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

the Central and North West London NHS Trust announced the sudden closure on 24 March 2020 of the three wards at the Gordon Hospital on the grounds of safeguarding the safety of staff and patients. It is unclear whether this is an opportune permanent closure. The claim by service managers is that Westminster patients will receive a "more local service" at St Charles' Hospital in the north of the neighbouring borough of Kensington and Chelsea, several miles away. The trust have also stated that they aim for patients to be treated closer to home where possible, in line with the NHS's long-term plan for provision of care in the community rather than using inpatient beds.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon Hospital 1884 establishments in England Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Defunct hospitals in London Health in the City of Westminster Former psychiatric hospitals in England Hospital buildings completed in 1884 Hospitals established in 1947 NHS hospitals in London Rectum