Hammersmith Hospital, formerly the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, and later the Special Surgical Hospital, is a major

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

in White City, West London. It is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in the

London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham () is a London boroughs, London borough in West London and which also forms part of Inner London. The borough was formed in 1965 as the London Borough of Hammersmith from the merger of the former Metr ...

, and is associated with the

Imperial College Faculty of Medicine The Faculty of Medicine is the academic centre for medicine, medical and clinical research and teaching at Imperial College London. It contains the Imperial College School of Medicine, which is the college's undergraduate medical school. Histo ...

. Confusingly the hospital is not in

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. It ...

but is located in White City adjacent to

Wormwood Scrubs Wormwood Scrubs, known locally as The Scrubs (or simply Scrubs), is an open space in Old Oak Common located in the north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London. It is the largest open space in the borough ...

and East Acton.

History

Origins

The hospital's origins begin in 1902, when the Hammersmith

Poor Law Guardians Boards of guardians were ''ad hoc'' authorities that administered Poor Law in the United Kingdom from 1835 to 1930. England and Wales Boards of guardians were created by the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834, replacing the parish overseers of the poor ...

decided to erect a new

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

and infirmary on a site at the north side of Du Cane Road somewhat to the north of

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

. The land, adjacent to Wormwood Scrubs Prison, was purchased for £14,500 from the

Ecclesiastical Commissioners The Ecclesiastical Commissioners were, in England and Wales, a body corporate, whose full title was Ecclesiastical and Church Estates Commissioners for England. The commissioners were authorised to determine the distribution of revenues of the Ch ...

. A temporary corrugated iron building was erected on the site in 1902 to provide care for victims of a

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

epidemic that had taken place in the winter of 1901–2. The buildings were designed by the firm of Giles, Gough and Trollope. Circle of Life - geograph

World War I

In February 1916, during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the patients were moved to other establishments and the site was taken over by the

War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

for use as the Military Orthopaedic Hospital, to care for wounded soldiers, largely thanks to the efforts of the noted surgeon Robert Jones. At that time the Joint War Committee awarded the hospital the sum of £1,000 to begin its work, soon followed in 1918 by a further grant of £10,000. The hospital was also supported by donations from the public. Part of the rehabilitation process involved putting the recovering patients to work in local shops, a policy which does not appear to have been entirely popular among the soldiers themselves.

Inter-war era

Later it was renamed the Special Surgical Hospital, and in 1919 became the Ministry of Pensions Hospital. In April 1925 demands by the Hammersmith Guardians for return of their property finally succeeded and the site became Hammersmith Hospital. By 1930, the infirmary could accommodate 300 patients.

World War II

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the hospital amassed expertise on the effects of crush syndrome and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

as a result of treating air raid victims. The hospital refectory was completely destroyed during one air raid.

Roger Daltrey Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...

, the singer and actor, was born at the hospital in 1944. The hospital was home to the first medical

linear accelerator A linear particle accelerator (often shortened to linac) is a type of particle accelerator that accelerates charged subatomic particles or ions to a high speed by subjecting them to a series of oscillating electric potentials along a linear ...

in the world at the MRC's Radiotherapeutic Research Unit, where the first patient was treated in 1953. The Commonwealth Building, which included the postgraduate medical school, the Wellcome Library and some research departments, was opened by the Queen in May 1966.

Modern era

Until 1997 the hospital was the home of the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, which then became part of Imperial College. The Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology (IRDB) was established by Professor Lord Winston on the site in 2001. In October 2007 Imperial College Healthcare and Imperial College formed the first

academic health science centre An academic medical centre (AMC), variously also known as academic health science centre, academic health science system, or academic health science partnership, is an educational and healthcare institute formed by the grouping of a health profes ...

from resources that included the academic expertise of Hammersmith Hospital and St Mary's Hospital. In April 2024, Hammersmith Hospital had announced a pilot six-month trial intended to improve kidney transplant outcomes, by watching white blood cell types with donors.

Facilities

Hammersmith Hospital is internationally renowned for clinical research. Its clinical reputation was built on the treatment of medical conditions notably of the heart and kidney. It is also famous for its significant role in creating the specialty of

Endocrine surgery Endocrine surgery is a surgical sub-speciality focusing on surgery of the endocrine glands, including the thyroid gland, the parathyroid glands, the adrenal glands, glands of the endocrine pancreas, and some neuroendocrine glands. Types Thyr ...

(the first international course on Endocrine Surgery was held here by Professors Selwyn Taylor and Richard Welbourn in 1971). Its services now include the Heart Attack Centre (Primary PCI Centre) for North West London, a

leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

wing (The Catherine Lewis Centre) the Department of Thyroid and Endocrine Surgery (serving North West London and pan-UK referrals and hosting the Selwyn Taylor Fellow) and the West London Renal and Transplant Centre. The Medical Research Council (MRC) also has a major presence at Hammersmith Hospital through the London Institute of Medical Sciences providing a strong foundation for clinical and scientific research, with extensive research and development of imaging techniques. Hammersmith's accident and emergency unit closed in 2014, to be replaced by 24-hour urgent care centers. Patients suspected of having a heart attack would still be taken to Hammersmith, which had one of London's eight heart attack centers. Protests over the change were held outside Hammersmith Hospital, with members of the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds supermajority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject t ...

voicing opposition. A spokesperson for the Imperial College Healthcare Trust stated the change was to consolidate emergency care services in other hospitals, as part of the government's Shaping a Healthier Future program. St. Mary's Hospital was chosen to take Hammersmith Hospital's future accident and emergency department patients when it closed in September 2014. In 2023, the BBC reported that Steven Barclay had potentially misled parliament by saying that a refurbishment of Hammersmith Hospital was being carried out. He stated the hospital was having a rehabilitation cardiac hub being built, which the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, the hospital's manager, denied.

References

External links

Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust's official siteAerial photo at Google Maps
{{authority control Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust NHS hospitals in London White City, London Poor law infirmaries Military hospitals in the United Kingdom