West Hill Hospital was a health facility in West Hill, Dartford,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England. It was managed by

Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust The Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust is an NHS Trust with an annual budget of about £121 million, and employs 1,900 staff. It manages Darent Valley Hospital in Dartford, Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup, Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup, Erith and Di ...

History

The facility had its origins in the Dartford Union Workhouse which was designed by John Whichcord and opened in 1860. A chapel was added in 1878 and two infirmaries were added to the north of the workhouse in 1897. It became King Edward Hospital in 1913 and the buildings were used as accommodation for munitions workers at the local

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

factory 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 facility was renamed the County Hospital in 1935 and suffered bomb damage when one nurse and 24 patients were killed in one of the female wards in enemy bombing in 1940 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 ...

. 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 " ...

as West Hill Hospital in 1948. A new accident and emergency department, together with new operating theatres and a new out-patients unit were opened by

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

in 1971. After inpatient services transferred to

Joyce Green Hospital Joyce Green Hospital was a hospital near Dartford, Kent, England. It opened in 1903 as an Isolation (health care), isolation hospital. In later years it was a Teaching hospital, training hospital. The hospital was closed in 2000 and the buildings ...

in 1997 and then outpatient services transferred to

Darent Valley Hospital Darent Valley Hospital is a 478-bed, acute district general hospital in Dartford, Kent, England. The hospital has an Emergency Department. The hospital is managed by the Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust. History The hospital, which was built to ...

in 2000, West Hill Hospital closed and the hospital buildings were subsequently demolished. Although the hospital site was acquired by

Barratt Developments Barratt Developments plc is one of the largest residential property development companies in the United Kingdom operating across England, Wales and Scotland. It was founded in 1958 as Greensitt Bros., but control was later assumed by Sir ...

for residential development, the main workhouse frontage survived.

References

{{authority control Hospital buildings completed in 1860 Hospitals established in 1860 Hospitals in Kent Defunct hospitals in England 1860 establishments in England Dartford