Queen Charlotte's And Chelsea Hospital
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Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital is one of the oldest
maternity hospital A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most ...
s in Europe, founded in 1739 in London. Until October 2000, it occupied a site at 339–351
Goldhawk Road Goldhawk Road is a road in west London, which starts at Shepherd's Bush and travels west. There are numerous shops, restaurants and businesses lining the road, which forms the southern boundary of Shepherd's Bush Green. It is designated part of ...
,
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...
, but is now located between
East Acton East Acton is an area in Acton in London, England, west of Charing Cross. It is partly in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and partly in the London Borough of Ealing. It is served by East Acton Underground station, on the Central ...
and
White City White City may refer to: Places Australia * White City, Perth, an amusement park on the Perth foreshore * White City railway station, a former railway station * White City Stadium (Sydney), a tennis centre in Sydney * White City FC, a football clu ...
, adjacent to the
Hammersmith Hospital Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of H ...
. It is managed by the
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 ...
.


History

The hospital strictly dates its foundation to 1739 when Sir Richard Manningham established a
maternity hospital A maternity hospital specializes in caring for women during pregnancy and childbirth. It also provides care for newborn infants, and may act as a centre for clinical training in midwifery and obstetrics. Formerly known as lying-in hospitals, most ...
of
lying-in Lying-in is the term given to the European forms of postpartum confinement, the traditional practice involving long bed rest before and after giving birth. The term and the practice it describes are old-fashioned or archaic, but it used to be c ...
beds in a 17-room house on
Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing retailers. Hist ...
. This hospital was called the
General Lying-in Hospital The General Lying-In Hospital was one of the first maternity hospitals in Great Britain. It opened in 1767 on Westminster Bridge Road, London and closed in 1971. Lying-in is an archaic term for childbirth (referring to the month-long bed rest pr ...
, and it was the first of its kind in Britain. In 1752 the hospital relocated from Jermyn Street to Marylebone Road and became one of the first teaching institutions. The hospital appears to have arisen out of the 1739 foundation, but with varying degrees of recognition, developing over time. On 10 January 1782 a licence was granted to the hospital charity by the Justices of the County of Middlesex (at that time a legal requirement for all maternity hospitals). In 1809 the
Duke of Sussex Duke of Sussex is a substantive title, one of several royal dukedoms, that has been created twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It is a hereditary title of a specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. It takes its name fr ...
persuaded his mother,
Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and of Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until the union of the two kingdoms ...
, to become patron of the hospital: it became, at that time, the Queen's Lying-in Hospital. The queen held an annual ball to raise funds for the hospital. The medical centre moved to the Old Manor House at Lisson Green in
Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...
in 1813 where it was completely rebuilt to a design by Charles Hawkins in 1856.
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
granted a
Royal Charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
to the hospital in 1885. It was renamed Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital and Midwifery Training School in 1923. Maternal death was a common occurrence in London throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, especially among healthy young women who were in good health prior to their pregnancies. For more than a century, the maternal death rate was used to measure the effectiveness of maternity services and treatment. One specific cause of maternal death,
postpartum The postpartum (or postnatal) period begins after childbirth and is typically considered to end within 6 weeks as the mother's body, including hormone levels and uterus size, returns to a non-pregnant state. The terms puerperium, puerperal pe ...
infection (then known as childbed fever, and now also as puerperal sepsis), was referred to as the doctor's plague, because it was more common in hospitals than in home births. Once the method of transmission was understood in 1931, an isolation block was created in
Goldhawk Road Goldhawk Road is a road in west London, which starts at Shepherd's Bush and travels west. There are numerous shops, restaurants and businesses lining the road, which forms the southern boundary of Shepherd's Bush Green. It is designated part of ...
. The rest of the maternity hospital moved to Goldhawk Road to co-locate with the isolation block in 1940. In 1948, following the creation of 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 " ...
, the hospital linked up with the Chelsea Hospital for Women to form a combined teaching school. The Chelsea Hospital for Women moved from Fulham Road to share the site under the new title Queen Charlotte's & Chelsea Hospital in 1988. In 2000 the hospital moved to Du Cane Road, next to the
Hammersmith Hospital Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major teaching hospital in White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the London Borough of H ...
.


Notable Staff

* Alice Blomfield, (1866-1938) Matron 1908–1924, had trained at
The London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and sp ...
under
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 ...
, and previously worked at Queen Charlotte's as a sister in 1899, also as Matron of the East End Mother's Home in 1901, and of
Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Camp ...
from 1905 to 1908. Whilst Matron of Queen Charlotte's the Out Patient's Department was extended, she oversaw new accommodation for District Midwives, and the first Preliminary Training School at a specialist hospital. At the 1910 Nursing and Midwifery Conference and Exhibition, Blomfield gave a joint lecture on Infantile Blindness with Arthur Nimmo Walker, a leading ophthalmologist from the St Paul's Eye Hospital,
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
. In April 1913 she spoke at the Sixth Annual Nursing and Midwifery Conference about Preliminary Training Schools for Midwives. She was active in the Incorporated Midwives' Institute, and was elected as a vice President in 1926.


Facilities

The hospital has a specialist "maternal medicine" unit for London, recognising that a need existed for specialist care to be offered to pregnant women who suffered from pre-existing medical conditions, or conditions that developed during pregnancy, whose treatment might impact upon the pregnancy. The unit is known as the de Swiet Obstetric Medicine Centre, and is currently housed in a small suite of rooms on the second floor of the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital. The maternal medicine unit is separated into two distinct areas: a labour ward and a birth centre. The delivery suites in the labour ward offer women a more traditional childbirth experience, while the birth centre strives to create a more "homely" environment. The labour ward is a much larger unit with 18 labour rooms, conducting approximately 5,700 births between April 2016 and April 2017. Women giving birth in this ward have access to epidurals during their birth. The birth centre is a smaller ward, with seven birthing rooms available for use. Approximately 1,030 births occurred in this centre between April 2017 and April 2018. In the birth centre, the primary aim is conducting a natural birth that lacks medical aid. These births take place using birth pools and do not utilize epidural shots. Infants born in both the labour ward and birth centre have access to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In addition to the birth center, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital also offers a relatively new program called the "Jentle Midwifery" scheme. This birth program ensures that the mother receives personalized, one-on-one care for the duration of her pregnancy, during labour, and up to four weeks after giving birth. Women who participate in this program receive care from the same midwife for the duration of their childbirth experience. The program is described as an alternative to the standard National Health Service (NHS) birthing options as well as private pay-for-treatment services. In the program's first year, 74 women registered for the "Jentle Midwifery" scheme, bringing in over £160,000 for the hospital.


Research

In 2016 the hospital partnered with Tommy's National Centre for Miscarriages, an organization that provides financial support for research on birth complications. This partnership established a miscarriage clinic at the hospital, which provides medical treatment for women who are participating in a research study related to miscarriages. The goal of this initiative is to reduce the number of miscarriages by 50% by the year 2030 through better understanding of what causes miscarriages. Tommy's created a pledge to research genetic causes of miscarriages, bacteria in miscarriages, and risk indicators of miscarriage during the first five years of the program. An additional 2016 initiative attempted to prevent cot death and reduce the infant mortality rate in the United Kingdom. Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital sent 800 families home with foam mattresses inside of cardboard boxes for their newborn children. These boxes, popular in Finland, are designed to stop infants from rolling onto their stomachs, which induces sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Today, Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital is the home of several ongoing research projects through the Imperial College Healthcare National Health Service (NHS) Trust. The hospital is one of five teaching and research hospitals in London included in the Imperial Healthcare Trust. Research projects include essential tremor thalamotomy, Parkinson's dyskinesia pallidotomy, ablation of rectal and other pelvic cancers, uterine fibroid ablation, and drug delivery for oncology.


COSMIC charity

COSMIC is an independent charity supporting the work of the neonatal and paediatric intensive care services of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London. The charity funds a range of specialist equipment for the units, including patient monitoring systems and sensory play stations for those being treated on the wards. COSMIC also funds an annual programme of training across units, and provides emotional and practical support to families with babies and children in intensive care, as well as supporting research into childhood diseases such as studies Kawasaki Disease.


Transport

The hospital is accessible by public transport; the nearest bus stops are "Wulfstan Street" and "Hammersmith Hospital"; the nearest tube station is
East Acton East Acton is an area in Acton in London, England, west of Charing Cross. It is partly in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and partly in the London Borough of Ealing. It is served by East Acton Underground station, on the Central ...
(Central Line).


Notable births at the hospital

*
Alexander Aris Alexander Myint San Aung Aris ( my, မြင့်ဆန်းအောင်, ; born 12 April 1973) is the elder son of Aung San Suu Kyi and Michael Aris. He is also a grandson of Aung San, who is credited with achieving the independence of My ...
, civil rights activist *
Mischa Barton Mischa Anne Marsden Barton (born 24 January 1986) is a British-American film, television, and stage actress. She began her career on the stage, appearing in Tony Kushner's ''Slavs!'' and took the lead in James Lapine's '' Twelve Dreams'' at Ne ...
, actress *
Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...
, athlete *
Benedict Cumberbatch Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received various accolades, including a British Academy Television Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Laurence O ...
, actor *
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 music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...
, musician. *
Danny Kustow Alexander Daniel Kustow (10 May 1955 – 11 March 2019) was an English rock guitarist, known for his dynamic performance style and work with the Tom Robinson Band in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life Kustow was born at Queen Charlotte's and Chel ...
(1955-2019), pop musician * Dame Helen Mirren, actress (who in 1994 portrayed the hospital's namesake in ''
The Madness of King George ''The Madness of King George'' is a 1994 British biographical historical comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner and adapted by Alan Bennett from his own 1991 play '' The Madness of George III''. It tells the true story of George III of G ...
'') *
Daniel Radcliffe Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...
, actor *
Zak Starkey Zak Richard Starkey (born 13 September 1965) is an English rock drummer who has performed and recorded with English rock band the Who since 1996. He is also the third drummer to have appeared with English rock band Oasis. In 2020, Starkey toure ...
, pop musician * Graeme K Talboys, author *
Carol Thatcher Carol Jane Thatcher (born 15 August 1953) is an English journalist, author and media personality. She is the daughter of Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister from 1979 to 1990, and Denis Thatcher. She has written biographies of both he ...
, journalist *
Mark Thatcher Sir Mark Thatcher, 2nd Baronet (born 15 August 1953) is an English businessman. He is the son of Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, and Sir Denis Thatcher; his sister is Carol Thatcher. His early career ...
, businessman


See also

*
British Lying-In Hospital The British Lying-In Hospital was a maternity hospital established in London in 1749, the second such foundation in the capital. Background The impetus for the creation of a dedicated maternity hospital was dissatisfaction on the part of the gov ...
*
List of hospitals in England The following is a list of hospitals in England. For NHS trusts, see the list of NHS Trusts. East Midlands * Arnold Lodge, Leicestershire * Babington Hospital – Belper, Derbyshire *Bassetlaw District General Hospital – Worksop, Nottingha ...
*
Portland Hospital The Portland Hospital for Women and Children is a private maternity hospital on Great Portland Street, City of Westminster, London, England, owned by the Hospital Corporation of America. History The Portland was conceived by Barry Lewis, a ...
*
Samaritan Hospital for Women The Samaritan Hospital for Women was a hospital in Marylebone Road, London. It is a Grade II listed building. History The hospital had its origins in the Gynaepathic Institute which was founded by Dr William Jones in Manchester Square in January ...
*
South London Hospital for Women and Children The South London Hospital for Women and Children was a general hospital treating women and children on Clapham Common in London, UK. It was also known as the South London Hospital for Women and the South London Women's Hospital. Founded by Elean ...


References


Sources

*


External links

{{Coord, 51.5161, -0.2373, type:landmark_region:GB-HMF, display=title 1739 establishments in England NHS hospitals in London Maternity hospitals in the United Kingdom Hospital buildings completed in 1946 Hospital buildings completed in 1988 Hospital buildings completed in 2001 Hospitals established in 1739 Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Imperial College Healthcare Voluntary hospitals Women in London Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz