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St George's Hospital is a large
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
Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...
, London. Founded in 1733, it is one of the UK's largest teaching hospitals. It is run by the
St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, formerly called St George's Healthcare NHS Trust, is based in Tooting in the London Borough of Wandsworth, and serves a population of 1.3 million across southwest London. A large numbe ...
. It shares its main hospital site in Tooting in the
London Borough of Wandsworth Wandsworth () is a London boroughs, London borough in South West (London sub region), South West London, England. It forms part of Inner London and has an estimated population of 329,677 inhabitants. Its main communities are Battersea, Balham, P ...
, with
City St George's, University of London City St George's, University of London is constituent research university of the federal University of London. It was established in 2024 by a merger between City, University of London and St George's, University of London. Organisation an ...
, which trains
NHS 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 ...
staff and carries out advanced
medical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...
. The hospital has around 1,300 beds and most general tertiary care such as accident and emergency, maternity services and care for
older people Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People who are of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological sta ...
and
children A child () is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking ...
. However, as a major acute hospital, St George's Hospital also offers specialist care for the more complex injuries and illnesses, including trauma,
neurology Neurology (from , "string, nerve" and the suffix wikt:-logia, -logia, "study of") is the branch of specialty (medicine) , medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the nervous syst ...
, cardiac care, renal transplantation, cancer care and stroke. It is also home to one of four major trauma centres and one of eight hyper-acute stroke units for London. St George's Hospital also provides care for patients from a larger catchment area in the South East of England, for specialities such as complex
pelvic The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an anatomical trunk, between the abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also called bony pelvis or pelvic skeleton). ...
trauma. Other services treat patients from all over the country, such as family HIV care and
bone marrow transplantation Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood, in order to replicate inside a patient and produce a ...
for non-cancer diseases. The trust also provides a nationwide
endoscopy An endoscopy is a procedure used in medicine to look inside the body. The endoscopy procedure uses an endoscope to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike many other medical imaging techniques, endoscopes are insert ...
training service.


History


Early history

Following a disagreement between medical staff and the Board of Governors over the expansion of the Westminster Infirmary, a mass exodus of medical staff left, in 1733, to set up what became St George's Hospital. The Board of Governors had favoured a house in Castle Lane but the medical staff preferred Lanesborough House at
Hyde Park Corner Hyde Park Corner is between Knightsbridge, Belgravia and Mayfair in London, England. It primarily refers to a major road junction at the southeastern corner of Hyde Park, that was originally planned by architect Decimus Burton. The juncti ...
. Lanesborough House, originally built in 1719 by James Lane, 2nd Viscount Lanesborough, was at that time located in open countryside. The new St George's Hospital was arranged on three floors and accommodated 30 patients in two wards: one for men and one for women. The hospital was gradually extended and, by 1744, it had fifteen wards and over 250 patients.History of St George's Hospital Medical School
By the 1800s, the hospital was slipping into disrepair. The old Lanesborough House at Hyde Park Corner was demolished to make way for a new 350 bed facility designed by architect William Wilkins. Building began in 1827 and was completed by 1844. By 1859, a critical shortage of beds led to the addition of an attic floor. This was soon insufficient and led to the creation of a new convalescent hospital, Atkinson Morley's in
Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * W ...
, freeing up beds at St George's for acute patients. A
medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...
was established in 1834 at Kinnerton Street and was incorporated into the hospital in 1868. The Medical School, now
St George's, University of London St George's, University of London (SGUL), legally the St George's Hospital Medical School, was a public medical school from 1733 to 2024 in South London, England. It merged with City, University of London to form City St George's, University of ...
, was built in the south-west corner of the hospital site in Hyde Park, with the main entrance in Knightsbridge and the back entrance in Grosvenor Crescent Mews. In 1948, 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 ...
was introduced and plans for a new site for St George's at The Grove and Fountain Fever Hospitals at
Tooting Tooting is a district in South London, forming part of the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is located south south-west of Charing Cross. History Tooting has been settled since pre-Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The name is of Anglo-Saxon ori ...
were eventually agreed upon. In 1954, the Grove Hospital became part of St George's, and clinical teaching started in Tooting. After a new hospital had been built at Tooting, St George's Hospital at Hyde Park Corner closed its doors for the last time in 1980. The building still stands and is now The Lanesborough Hotel on the west side of Hyde Park Corner.


Relocation to Tooting

The new hospital at Tooting was built in stages. The first stage, which included 710 beds and the medical school, was completed in 1976, although the main hospital was not completed until 1980. In 1981, medical education in London was reorganised to recognise the movement of population away from the centre. There are now fewer, larger medical schools in London. The expansion of St George's, University of London (formerly St George's Hospital Medical School) has become part of this policy. In 2004,
neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions, and its disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, ...
services located at Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon moved to the brand new Atkinson Morley Wing on the main St George's site. This addition to the hospital now also houses cardiac and cardiothoracic services which have moved from the old fever hospital wards. St George's today provides a total of over 1,000 beds making it one of the biggest in the country. In April 2010 St George's Healthcare became part of the South West London and Surrey Trauma Network (SWLSTN). All Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments within the network continue to provide trauma services with St George's designated as the major trauma centre. It is one of a small number of A&E departments to benefit from Pearson Lloyd's redesign – 'A Better A&E' – which reduced aggression against hospital staff by 50 per cent. A system of environmental signage provides location-specific information for patients. Screens provide live information about how many cases are being handled and the current status of the A&E department. In October 2010 St George's Healthcare NHS Trust integrated with
Community Services Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...
Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Toponymy Wandsworth takes its name ...
, after approval from NHS London. In May 2014 the Trust's application for Foundation Trust status was approved by the
NHS Trust Development Authority The NHS Trust Development Authority (NHSTDA) was an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health. Its formation came as a result of reorganisation of the National Health Service (NHS) in England outlined in the Health and Soci ...
following a positive rating from the
Care Quality Commission The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department of Health and Social Care of the United Kingdom. It was established in 2009 to regulate and inspect health and social care providers in England. It ...
. In the last five years the trust has turned around a large deficit and repaid a debt of £34m. The TDA identified several areas that the trust will have to work on to ensure it gets through the final stages of FT assessment. These include improving its A&E performance against the four-hour waiting time target and putting together a robust operating plan for the next two years. From October 2014 the hospital's Accident and Emergency department has featured in the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
documentary series " 24 Hours in A&E". In August 2018 it was reported that the average death rate nationally among patients receiving cardiac surgery was 2%, but that the cardiac unit at St George's had experienced 3.7%. Toxic disputes between surgeons were blamed. Mike Bewick wrote a report claiming "inadequate" internal scrutiny of the department; also the surgeons were divided into "two camps" showing "tribal-like activity". Bewick stated, "In our view the whole team shares responsibility for the failure to significantly improve professional relationships and to a degree surgical mortality." The hospital maintained it was taking action.


Notable students and staff

Among those who have been associated with St George's are: * Katherine McCall Anderson, RRC & Bar, distinguished military and civilian nurse, matron from 1907 to 1914 * Rosena Allin-Khan, doctor and Labour MP for Tooting * Sir William H. Bennett established a department of massage for the treatment of fractures * Sir Benjamin Collins Brodie, 1st Baronet, English physiologist and surgeon who pioneered research into bone and joint disease * Geoffrey Davies 1924–2008, Cardiology Technician who invented the British version of the cardiac pacemaker * Clinton Thomas Dent, surgeon and mountaineer * Cornwallis Hewett, Physician-Extraordinary to the King,
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
as well as Physician to St George's Hospital * Sir Prescott Hewett, 1st Bt., Physician to the Queen and
Serjeant Surgeon The Serjeant Surgeon is the senior surgeon in the Medical Household of the Royal Household of the Monarch, Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The origin of the post dates back to 1253. Early serjeant surgeons were military surgeons who followed the ...
to
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
as well as Physician to St George's Hospital * William Howship Dickinson, involved in the early characterisation of
Alport syndrome Alport syndrome is a genetic disorder affecting around 1 in 5,000–10,000 children, characterized by glomerulonephritis, end-stage kidney disease, and hearing loss. Alport syndrome can also affect the eyes, though the changes do not usually affec ...
* Joseph Forlenze, ophthalmologist of the Napoleonic Empire *
Henry Gray Henry Gray (1827 – 13 June 1861) was a British anatomist and surgery, surgeon most notable for publishing the book ''Gray's Anatomy''. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) at the age of 25. Biography Gray was born ...
, anatomist * Dorinda Hafner, first black RN trained at the hospital * Helen Hanks (nurse), matron from 1930 to 1947, distinguished nurse and matron during WWII *
Harry Hill Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an offbeat, energetic performanc ...
, subsequently stand-up comedian and TV funny man * John Hunter, father of modern surgery *
Edward Jenner Edward Jenner (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was an English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. The terms ''vaccine'' and ''vaccination'' are derived f ...
, introduced vaccination for
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 ...
* Henry Lee, surgeon, pathologist and syphilologist * Henry Marsh, neurosurgeon and author of the bestselling memoir ''Do No Harm'' * Peter H Millard Emeritus Professor of Geriatrics and inventor of Nosokinetics * Atkinson Morley, philanthropist *
Humphry Osmond Humphry Fortescue Osmond (1 July 1917 – 6 February 2004) was an English psychiatrist who moved to Canada and later the United States. He is known for inventing the word '' psychedelic'' and for his research into interesting and useful applicat ...
, pioneer of orthomolecular psychiatry and coiner of the word psychedelic * George David Pollock, pioneer of skin grafts * Muriel Powell (nurse), matron from 1947 to 1969, innovator in nursing practice and education, chief nurse of Scotland 1969-1976 *
Juda Hirsch Quastel Juda Hirsch Quastel, (October 2, 1899 – October 15, 1987) was a British-Canadian biochemist who pioneered diverse research in neurochemistry, soil metabolism, cellular metabolism, and cancer. Biography Quastel, also known as "Harry" or ...
, biochemist, with discoveries in neuroscience, soil chemistry and cancer * Marmaduke Sheild, surgeon who gave his name to the Sheild Professorship of Pharmacology at
Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
* Paul Sinha, comedian * Peter Sleight, internationally renowned cardiologist * Sir Patrick Vallance, Government Chief Scientific Adviser (GCSA) and Head of the Government Science and Engineering (GSE) profession * John Taylor Warren, military medical officer * Thomas Spencer Wells, pioneer in abdominal surgery *
Edward Adrian Wilson Edward Adrian Wilson (23 July 1872 – 29 March 1912) was an English polar explorer, ornithologist, natural historian, physician and artist. Early life Born in Cheltenham on 23 July 1872, Wilson was the second son and fifth child of ...
, polar explorer and member of
Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the Terra Nova Expedition ...
's ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the
South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...
* Thomas Young, physician, mathematician and hieroglyphicologist


In the media

The old hospital was the subject of an impromptu poem by
Letitia Elizabeth Landon Letitia Elizabeth Landon (14 August 1802 – 15 October 1838) was an English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L.E.L. Landon's writings are emblematic of the transition from Romanticism to Victorian literature. Her first major b ...
. The hospital is part of the long-running
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
documentary series '' 24 Hours in A&E''.


Arms


See also

*
List of hospitals in England The following is a list of hospitals in England. For NHS trusts, see the list of NHS Trusts. East Midlands East of England London North central East North west South east South west North East County Durham Northumberland No ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint George's Hospital 1733 establishments in England NHS hospitals in London Teaching hospitals in London St George's, University of London Hospitals established in the 1730s Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Wandsworth Hospital buildings completed in 1976 Tooting Voluntary hospitals