Gosport War Memorial Hospital
History
Early history
The hospital was built as a memorial to members of the Portsmouth Division of the Royal Marine Light Infantry based at Forton Barracks who had died in the First World War. Its foundation stone was laid by Field Marshal Earl Haig on 3 July 1921. The hospital opened on 19 April 1923. The East Wing was added in 1932 and the Canon Landon memorial clock, which recognised the life of Canon Guy Landon, Rector of Alverstoke from 1907 to 1947, was added following his death.
NHS
The hospital joined the National Health Service in 1948. New out-patient and accident and emergency departments were added in 1963 and a physical medicine and x-ray facility was added in 1966. A petition with 20,000 signatures prevented the hospital from closing in the early 1980s. In 1991 £10.5m provided to create a new community hospital for Gosport was used to extend the hospital, the work being completed in 1995. This provided beds for General Practitioner, elderly mental health, and maternity services, as well as two new day hospitals.
1990s opioid deaths
On 20 June 2018, after an enquiry which took four years and cost £14 million, the Gosport Independent Panel published a report which found that 456 deaths in the 1990s had "followed inappropriate administration of opioid drugs". Assistant Chief Constable Nick Downing, head of the Serious Crime Directorate for Kent and Essex Police, announced on 30 April 2019 that a new criminal investigation into the deaths was to take place.
21st century
The extended site now provides inpatient and outpatient services for the local community following the closure of the nearby Royal Hospital Haslar and to complement services provided by the expanded Queen Alexandra General Hospital in Cosham which was completed in 2009. There are four in-patient wards with a total of 70 beds, offering rehabilitation or caring for older people with acute mental health needs. The minor injuries unit, operated by Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, was upgraded to an urgent treatment centre in 2021.
Notes
- ^ Within the context of this site several independent unit buildings appear referred to as hospitals.
References
- ^ "Gosport War Memorial Hospital". Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Gosport War Memorial Hospital". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "Gosport War Memorial Hospital from 1923 to 1995" (PDF). Portsmouth HealthCare NHS Trust. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "A Brief History of Gosport". Localhistories. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Our History". St Mary's Church, Alverstoke. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ "The War Memorial Hospital as originally built, without the east wing, and no Canon Landon memorial clock". Gosport Heritage. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
- ^ Gosport; Portsmouth Healthcare Trust (1998). Gosport War Memorial Hospital (lectern-style information board). Gosport War Memorial Hospital forecourt near original entrance.
- ^ "'Disregard for human life' - 450 patients killed by painkillers at hospital, report says". Health Service Journal. 20 June 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
- ^ Boseley, Sarah (20 June 2018). "Gosport hospital: more than 450 patients died due to opioid drugs policy". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "'New criminal investigation launched into deaths of hundreds of patients at Gosport War Memorial Hospital'". BBC News. 30 April 2019.
- ^ "Royal Diary of Engagements". Buckingham Palace. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ Wingham, Mark. "Petersfield Minor Injuries Unit upgraded to Urgent Treatment Centre". Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight CCG.
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