Chelsea and Westminster Hospital is a 430-bed teaching hospital located in Chelsea, London. The hospital has a rich history in that it serves as the new site for the

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...

. It is operated by

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust operates Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and West Middlesex University Hospital (since 1 September 2015). The Foundation Trust was created on 1 October 2006. The Trust's chief executive is L ...

, and became a member of

Imperial College Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a cultural district in South Kensington that included museums ...

Academic Health Science Centre (Imperial AHSC) in July 2020. The hospital is the central part of

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

Chelsea and Westminster Campus, and plays an integral role in teaching students and conducting medical research at Imperial College London.

History

The first hospital on the site was conceived in 1876 and officially opened as the St George's Union Infirmary in February 1878. This facility became St Stephen's Hospital in 1925 and, after it had joined the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...

in 1948, continued in service until it closed in 1989. Part of the old hospital survives as an

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

unit known as "St Stephen's Centre". The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, which was designed by the architects

Sheppard Robson Sheppard Robson (previously Richard Sheppard, Robson & Partners) is a British architecture firm, founded in 1938 by Richard Sheppard (architect), Sir Richard Herbert Sheppard, with offices in London, Manchester, and Glasgow. It was particularl ...

, was built on the St Stephen's Hospital site and was officially opened by the Queen in May 1993. It brought together staff, services and equipment from five other hospitals in London: * St Stephen's Hospital (1876–1989), the original hospital on the site *

St Mary Abbots Hospital St Mary Abbots Hospital was a hospital that operated from 1871 to 1992 at a site on Marloes Road in Kensington, London. History The hospital building, which was designed by Alfred Williams as a workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhou ...

(1871–1992), in

Marloes Road Marloes Road is a street in the Kensington area of London, England. It runs roughly south to north, from a T-junction with Cromwell Road to Cheniston Gardens and Abingdon Villas. It has junctions with (''inter alia'') Lexham Gardens, Stratfor ...

West London Hospital The West London Hospital was founded in 1856 as the Fulham and Hammersmith General Dispensary, which was housed in a small 6-roomed building in Queen Street, Hammersmith. It catered for acute conditions and later for geriatric, maternity, rehabili ...

(1856–1993), in Hammersmith Road, known for its maternity services in the 1970s *

(1719–1992), in Horseferry Road, and its medical school in Page Street. * Westminster Children's Hospital (1903–1995), on Vincent Square The hospital displays many treasures from the predecessor hospitals. Some of these are in the first floor hospital chapel, including a 16th-century painting by

Veronese Veronese is the Italian word denoting someone or something from Verona, Italy and may refer to: * Veronese Riddle, a popular riddle in the Middle Ages * Veronese (moth), ''Veronese'' (moth), a moth genus in the family Crambidae * Monte Veronese, ...

from the Westminster Hospital and stained glass windows from St Mary Abbots Hospital and the Westminster Children's Hospital.

Services

Chelsea and Westminster maintains a range of medical and surgical acute services:

Hand trauma

The hospital provides a number of services which include a specialist

hand surgery Hand surgery deals with both surgical and non-surgical treatment of conditions and problems that may take place in the hand or upper extremity (commonly from the tip of the hand to the shoulder), American Society for Surgery of the Hand. Retriev ...

/management unit sometimes known as HMU.

HIV / GUM

The hospital's

/ GUM Clinical Directorate was established in April 1991, and is today the largest specialist HIV unit in Europe, and enjoys a worldwide reputation as a centre of excellence in both the care of HIV-positive patients and a wide range of associated clinical research. The St Stephen's Centre is also home to the core laboratory of the

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is a global Non-profit organization, not-for-profit, public-private partnership working to accelerate the development of vaccines to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. IAVI researches and develops vacc ...

(IAVI).

Radio Chelsea and Westminster

Radio Chelsea and Westminster is the hospital's own hospital radio station, available for; patients, staff and the local community. It was launched in 1977 to provide music and escapism for patients. Patients are able to listen to the hospital radio on Channel 6 on their

hospedia Hospedia Ltd (formerly ''PatientLine'') is a provider of bedside communication and entertainment units in UK hospitals which also sells clinical workflow solutions for NHS Trusts. History Hospedia Ltd is a private limited company, established ...

bedside unit, or online at www.radiocw.org. The radio station has featured in a number of locations around the hospital it is currently on the second floor of the hospital between lift banks C and D.

Education

In 1984,

Westminster Hospital Medical School The Westminster Hospital Medical School was one of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine. It was formally founded in 1834 by George Guthrie, an ex-military surgeon – although students had been taken on at Wes ...

merged with the Charing Cross Hospital Medical School to form

Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School existed as a legal entity for 13 years, as the midpoint of a series of mergers which strategically consolidated the many small medical schools in west London into one large institution under the aegis ...

. This was part of a series of mergers of London medical schools in the early 1980s, foreshadowing a larger series in the late 1990s, which brought all the institutes together into five large schools. In 1997, as part of the second wave, CXWMS merged with

, London (and its medical department,

St Mary's Hospital Medical School St Mary's Hospital Medical School was the youngest of the constituent medical schools of Imperial College School of Medicine, founded in 1854 as part of the new hospital in Paddington. During its existence in the 1980s and 1990s, it was the most ...

), the National Heart and Lung Institute, and the

Royal Postgraduate Medical School The Royal Postgraduate Medical School (RPMS) was an independent medical school, based primarily at Hammersmith Hospital in west London. In 1988, the school merged with the Institute of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and in 1997 became part of Imperial ...

, to form

Imperial College School of Medicine Imperial College School of Medicine (ICSM) is the undergraduate medical school of Imperial College London in England and one of the United Hospitals. It is part of the college's Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and was ...

. Chelsea and Westminster Hospital maintains strong ties with Imperial College School of Medicine and is a teaching hospital for students undergoing clinical attachments in various specialties.

Notable births

Notable births include: * Fabien Frankel, English actor *

Dakota Blue Richards Dakota Blue Richards (born 11 April 1994) is an English actress. Her film debut at the age of 13 was in '' The Golden Compass'', as the lead character Lyra Belacqua. Other lead roles include the wayward teenager April in '' Dustbin Baby'' and ...

, English actress * Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi (born 2021), first daughter of

Princess Beatrice of York Princess Beatrice, Mrs Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is a member of the British royal family. She is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is a niece of Charles ...

and

Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi Edoardo Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi (born 19 November 1983) is a British property developer descended from Italian nobility. He is the founder and chief executive of Banda Property, a property development and interior design company. He became a me ...

* Athena Elizabeth Rose Mapelli Mozzi (born 2025), second daughter of

and

Notable deaths

Notable deaths include: *

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lee became known as an actor with a deep and commanding voice who often portrayed villains in horr ...

, English actor, died on 7 June 2015 *

Maggie Smith Dame Margaret Natalie Smith (28 December 1934 – 27 September 2024) was a British actress. Known for her wit in both comedic and dramatic roles, she had List of Maggie Smith performances, an extensive career on stage and screen for over seve ...

, English actress, died on 27 September 2024

References

External links

Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

Chelsea and Westminster Health Charity – owner and curator of the visual art, installation art and sculpture displayed at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

NHS Care Records Service

Cranio-Orbito-Palpebral service, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)

St Stephen's AIDS Trust Clinical Trials Unit

You Choose – Chelsea and Westminster HIV information site for gay men
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chelsea And Westminster Hospital 1993 establishments in England 1993 in London Buildings and structures in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Chelsea, London Hospital buildings completed in 1993 Hospitals established in 1993 NHS hospitals in London Teaching hospitals in London