Oakwood Hospital - Closure

Closure

During the 1970s and 1980s there was a change in focus on the best way to treat the mentally ill and housing patients long-term in large institutions was falling out of favour. It was therefore inevitable that the Oakwood Hospital would close or see a change in its role.

Plans for a new hospital for Maidstone were approved in the mid-1970s and the site chosen was just to the north of the Oakwood Hospital. Construction on the Maidstone Hospital began in 1980 and was completed in 1982/1983. The Oakwood Hospital then became known as the Maidstone Hospital (Psychiatric Wing) and some of its functions began to be transferred across to the new hospital.

The Maidstone Health Authority Operational Plan for 1984/85 (paragraph 4.2) states that the long term objective was to close the Oakwood Hospital. The publication of the Short Term Program for 1986-87/1987-88 (paragraph 6.7) recommends the closure of St Andrew's House which by that time had ten wards (nine for Medway Health authority patients and one for all user authorities) and 186 patients. The Program acknowledged that this closure would accelerate the strategic objective of vacating the total site.

Final closure of the Oakwood Hospital came in the 1990s when all its remaining functions had been transferred to the Maidstone Hospital. After the closure, there were a spate of arson attacks on the buildings and on 11 May 1997, work began to demolish the Hermitage Block and other unused buildings.

St Andrew's House, The Queen's House, The Beeches (formerly the Superintendant's House), the stone gate piers (at the entrance) and 2 Lodges (within the grounds) are all Grade II listed buildings and so were all spared demolition.

St Andrew's House was converted into apartments in 2001-2002, after some £60,000 was spent by a specialist firm to landscape the grounds which had become overgrown. The Queen's House, Beeches and the lodges was sold off in April 1997, and was soon then turned into residential use. A new housing development now occupies the site of the demolished Hermitage Block.