The Public Dispensary of Edinburgh was the first free-of-charge hospital in Scotland.
History
Edinburgh has a history of providing free medical care to the poor. In first meeting of the
Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is a medical royal college in Scotland. It is one of three organisations that sets the specialty training standards for physicians in the United Kingdom. It was established by Royal charter ...
, in 1681, the Fellows drew up a scheme to provide free medical care for the poor of Edinburgh.
By the eighteenth century, Edinburgh remained overcrowded, disease-ridden, and overflowing with the poor. In 1705, the Fellows at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh unanimously agreed to continue providing medical aid for the poor by two Fellows per year at their new premises in Fountain Close. This "Dispensary" service continued at Fountain Close until 1729 when it transferred to the new "Physicians’ Hospital or Infirmary for the Sick and Poor."
A Dispensary for the Infant Poor had already been established in London in 1769, although it did not survive, and the idea expanded. By 1776, Dispensaries had been established across England. Edinburgh's public dispensary was founded in 1776 by
Andrew Duncan and provided the impoverished in the city with free
medical
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
advice. It opened in West Richmond Street in 1783.
The Dispensary was established and financed as a public charity from the beginning and was an extension of Duncan's teaching program. Patients attending the Dispensary received free medicines and advice and in return agreed to be demonstrations in Duncan's classes.
In June 1815,
William Pulteney Alison
William Pulteney Alison FRSE FRCPE FSA (12 November 1790 – 22 September 1859) was a Scottish physician, social reformer and philanthropist. He was a distinguished professor of medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He served as president ...
and other Fellows of the Public Dispensary of Edinburgh founded another public dispensary in Edinburgh's
New Town. Alison felt a second dispensary was justified to meet the demands of the city's poor. The Royal Dispensary was only open two days a week and had no established system for home visiting.
It received 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, but s ...
on 13 January 1818, becoming the Royal Public Dispensary of Edinburgh.
The trustees of the Royal Dispensary donated their building at West Richmond Street and its remaining funds to the
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...
in 1963. The University
refurbished the building and renamed it the Mackenzie Medical Centre, after
Sir James Mackenzie
Sir James Mackenzie (12 April 1853 – 26 January 1925) was a Scottish cardiologist who was a pioneer in the study of cardiac arrhythmias. Due to his work in the cardiac field he is known as a research giant in primary care, and was knighted by ...
, a general practitioner.
The Royal Dispensary also endowed the first Chair of General Practice in the world, at the University of Edinburgh, to which
Richard Scott was appointed later that year.
References
External links
Records of the Royal Public Dispensary of Edinburgh
1776 establishments in Scotland
Hospitals in Edinburgh
History of medicine in the United Kingdom
History of the University of Edinburgh
1776 in science
Defunct hospitals in Scotland
History of science and technology in Scotland
1963 disestablishments in Scotland
1963 in science
Charities based in Edinburgh
Dispensaries in the United Kingdom
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