History
In 1744, Hillingdon Vestry decided to build a workhouse. Finding a suitable site proved difficult, but it was finally decided to build it near Colham Green. The work on this was completed in 1747.
By 1830, the workhouse had grown considerably in size, and it was decided to expand it to accommodate male and females separately.
The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834 resulted in the building of the Uxbridge Union Workhouse on the site in around 1838.
Middlesex County Council took charge of the Uxbridge Union buildings in 1930 and began development into the Hillingdon Institution an acute hospital.
Rapid progress was made and the hospital was significantly improved enlargened in 1932. This included replacing the wooden floors with concrete ones (the wooden ones being too weak to cope with the weight of an operating theatre table and equipment.
The hospital was damaged by bombs in October 1940, causing much damage. There were no casualties, and the hospital was moved into temporary accommodation. This proved to be unpopular, and following the war, the number of beds in the hospital declined due to a lack of staff. The Medical Director of the time Dr. W Arklay Steel was concerned at the condition of the hospital. In 1948, when the NHS took charge, the hospital consisted of a series of temporary buildings in varying states of disrepair.
In 1957, it was agreed to rebuild Hillingdon Hospital. Following this, in 1960, the maternity wing of the hospital was opened and is still in operation today.
Sir Arnold France, Secretary of the Ministry of Health opened the current Hillingdon Hospital on 10 January 1967. It had cost £3.2 million to build. It provided seven new wards including the provision of some single rooms, outpatients department, imaging department, Accident and Emergency services, Operating theatres and recovery suites, pathology laboratories, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and a canteen.
It was heralded as being an innovative new hospital, with a central vacuum system and piped oxygen throughout. Wards were named alphabetically, with K for Kennedy Ward being at the top of the hospital.
In December 2008, Bevan Ward was opened. This ward, named in honour of the founder of the NHS, Aneurin Bevan, consists of three clusters of eight ensuite patient rooms. Each cluster is slightly different in design, allowing detailed research into patient satisfaction, sleep quality, privacy and infection rates This has been heralded as the future of hospital care in the UK.Patients and staff alike are very pleased with the new facilities, with some describing it as a five-star hotel. It was visited in 2009 by Health Secretary Alan Johnson who was apparently struck by the patient satisfaction.
The newly refurbished Fleming Ward opened in November 2009.
An eye clinic at the hospital received an award in 2010 from the Macular Disease Society for its work in Macular Degeneration.
The hospital trust became an independent NHS foundation trust on 1 April 2011.
Read more about this topic: Hillingdon Hospital
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