Old Western General Hospital, Patients' Library

Category

Library Item

Item no

32286

Title

Old Western General Hospital, Patients' Library

Description

Book and index cards on table in Western General Hospital Library.

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1965

Size

2.3 x 3.5 cm

Type

Slide transparency

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

Copyright

The copyright status of this item is unknown. If you have information related to the copyright holder please contact us.

The Western General Hospital is situated in the north-west of Edinburgh. The institution did not begin as a purely medical hospital but as Craigleith Poorhouse and school, where orphans were taught trades in an attempt to pull them from poverty. The Western treated the casualties of battle during both World Wars. During World War II there were a high number of highly trained Polish medical professionals flooding into Britain and it was decided that the Polish School of Medicine and a small Polish hospital with 120 beds would be set up with the Western as its home. Polish medical students studied there throughout the war and the last students graduated in 1949. The hospital today treats 150,000 patients a year and is home to many specialist medical departments including a centre for heart disease, gastrointestinal medicine, neurosurgery and is the regional centre for cancer treatment for south-east Scotland.

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Healthcare and welfare > Healthcare and welfare facilities > Hospitals

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh

Sport and leisure > Culture > Libraries

Toys > Books, Annuals and comics > Books