History of hospital in United Kingdom

An institutional focus in a hospital setting evolved in England only during the late eighteenth century. In the various part of Britain archeologist have discovered some of the world’s first hospital.

They had excellent plumbing and sewerage systems designed for good hygiene, for some had flushing toilets where water carried away waste products.

The hospitals building are divided into separate wards, probably to isolate infectious disease.

History reveals that one of the first traces of an organized hospital in the United Kingdom was the St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, Smithfield in London, founded in 1123.

The hospital was granted a Royal Charter by King Henry VIII in 1546.

Another hospital was St. Nicholas hospitals, Harbledown, near Canterbury. It was founded in the year of 1084, by Archbishop Lanfranc, to care for the outcast, aged and infirm.

In 2010, archeologists discovered the ancient hospital of England in Winchester, Hampshire. Radio carbon analysis provided a date range of AD 960-1030 for a series of burials, many exhibiting evidence of leprosy, on the site.

Voluntary general hospitals and with them the beginning of teaching programs, began to be established in all parts of the country during the eighteenth century. Westminster (1719), Guy’s (1725) and St. George’s (1733) represented the new movement in London.
History of hospital in United Kingdom