The Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) is a major research and

teaching hospital A teaching hospital is a hospital or medical centre that provides medical education and training to future and current health professionals. Teaching hospitals are almost always affiliated with one or more universities and are often co-located ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada. It is part of the

University Health Network University Health Network (UHN) is a public research and teaching hospital network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest health research organization in Canada and ranks first in Canada for total research funding. It was named Canada's ...

(UHN). It has 256 beds, with 46,000 visits to its emergency department annually. It is known for

neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the medical specialty concerned with the surgical treatment of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system including the brain, spinal cord and pe ...

and was one of the first centres in Canada to use the

gamma knife Radiosurgery is surgery using radiation, that is, the destruction of precisely selected areas of tissue using ionizing radiation rather than excision with a blade. Like other forms of radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy), it is usually u ...

. It is also home to the Donald K. Johnson Eye Centre and the Krembil Discovery Tower where the Krembil Research Institute is based.

History

Four nurses at the Toronto Western Hospital are gathered around a patient, c

In 1895, doctors serving what was then the west end of Toronto united in hopes of building a full hospital facility to serve this overlooked locale. Twelve doctors signed a pledge to fulfill their vision and soon after, the Toronto Western Hospital was born. The Toronto Western Hospital opened first as a

public dispensary A public dispensary, charitable dispensary or free dispensary gives advice and medicines free-of-charge, or for a small charge. Provident dispensary In the 19th and early 20th centuries a provident dispensary was a clinic offering medical care ...

, followed by a 30-bed hospital operating out of two rented houses on Manning Avenue. With the support of several influential citizens, enough money was raised by 1899 to acquire a nearby farmhouse property and to build the Western on its present site at the corner of Bathurst and Dundas Streets. During construction, patients were treated under large tents until the hospital opened year-round in 1905. The 1906 North Wing, 1910 South Wing and 1911/1923 additions were designed by E. J. Lennox but since demolished. The main wing or McLaughlin Pavilion was built in 1935 by Govan Ferguson Lindsay Kaminker Langley Keenleyside and renovated in 2003 by Dunlop-Farrow Architects and Murray Hilgers Architects. Like the

Toronto General Hospital The Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is a major teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and the flagship campus of University Health Network (UHN). It is located in the Discovery District of Downtown Toronto along University Avenue's Hospital ...

, Toronto Western Hospital saw several renovations over the years and today occupies a full city block. The East Wing was built in 2005. In 2022, the Government of Ontario announced that Toronto Western will be expanded to include a new patient care tower that will increase capacity for inpatients, operating rooms, and other units. The expansion is projected to increase neurosurgical procedures by 10% over the next ten years.

Royal patronage

The hospital has a royal patron,

Sophie, Countess of Wessex Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Forfar, (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar, the youngest brother of King Charles III. She grew u ...

References

External links

{{authority control Hospitals in Toronto Hospital buildings completed in 1905 Hospitals established in 1895 Public dispensaries Hospitals affiliated with the University of Toronto 1895 establishments in Ontario