Leith Hospital
Leith Hospital was situated on Mill Lane in Leith, Edinburgh, and was a general hospital with medical and surgical wards for men, women and children, and an accident unit.[1]
Contents
History
The hospital was founded in 1774 by a group which later named themselves the Edinburgh and Leith Humane Society, its primary purpose being to rescue and bring back to health, persons falling in the Water of Leith.[2] In 1815 the Society opened a Dispensary, and in 1837 a Casualty Hospital. In 1848 these were combined to form Leith Hospital. The hospital was incorporated in 1907.[3]
In 1886 its Directors granted an application from Dr. Sophia Jex-Blake to allow women medical students to attend for clinical instruction.
The children's ward was built following the First World War, as a memorial to the soldiers of Leith.[4]
The hospital was a beneficiary of the Rosebery Charity Cup, which ran from 1882-1945.[5]
Notable staff
- Thomas Latta - Medical pioneer. Based at Leith Hospital while working on research which led to the introduction of the saline solution methodology into the treatment of patients.
- David Wilkie (surgeon) - Widely regarded as the father of British Academic surgery. Employed at Leith Hospital 1910-1912.
- Mary Docherty - Communist Party activist.
- Stanley Davidson - Physician, medical investigator and author.
- James Scarth Combe - Consultant physician. President of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 1851-1852.
- Dr John Coldstream - Consultant physician.
- Prof James Syme - Pioneering Scottish surgeon. Worked at Leith Hospital in the 1860s.
Closure
Leith Hospital closed in 1987, with the buildings converted to residential units.[6] Local protests, including a petition to keep the hospital open, were unsuccessful. The building was sold for £1.65million. Six years later, the Leith Community Treatment Centre opened in Junction Place, offering a reduced range of services.[4]
In October 2011, the Edinburgh-based Citadel Arts Group published Leith Hospital Recalled, a collection of memories from 50 contributors who were treated in or worked at the hospital. The project was funded by the Leith Benevolent Trust.[7] A play based on the stories in the book, Leith's Hidden Treasure, was produced by the same group in 2012. Written by Laure C Paterson, the play was performed as part of the Leith Hospital Project, at the 2012 Leith Festival.[8]
References
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- ↑ Leith Hospital 1848-1988, by D H A Boyd ISBN 0-7073-0584-5
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