King's College Hospital
Encyclopedia
King's College Hospital is an acute care
facility in the London Borough of Lambeth
, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It serves an inner city
population of 700,000 in the London borough
s of Southwark
and Lambeth
but also serves as a tertiary referral centre in certain specialties to millions of people in southern England.
in Portugal Street close to Lincoln's Inn Fields
. It was used as a training facility where medical students of King's College London
could practice and receive instruction from the college's own professors. The surrounding area there was composed of overcrowded slums characterised by poverty and disease
. Within two years of opening, the hospital was treating 1290 inpatients in 120 bed
s, with two patients sharing a bed by no means unusual. The main contractor for the new hospital was Lucas Brothers
.
Pioneer of aseptic surgery Joseph Lister
performed the first major elective surgery under strict antiseptic conditions in 1877. He helped propel the hospital to have a surgical unit comparable with the best in Europe
.
In the first years of the 20th century, demographic changes saw a decrease in the number of patients requiring treatment in the centre of London, and an increase of patients from further afield - notably Camberwell
, Peckham
and Brixton
which were then suburbs on the outskirts of London
. Following an act of Parliament in 1904, a foundation stone was laid for the new hospital, designed by William Pite, in 1909 at its present site at Denmark Hill
, south of the River Thames
. In the same year, King's College became incorporated into the University of London
and the hospital was established as a separate legal entity. The move to Denmark Hill provided the Hospital with a greenfield-site nearer to its patients. The building itself incorporated modern design principles to encourage adequate ventilation, used electric clocks throughout, contained only the second internal phone installation in Britain
at the time, and generated its own power through the use of diesel engine
s.
Pre-clinical training of medical students remained the responsibility of King's College, whilst advanced medical training took place at the hospital under the auspices of a newly formed King's College Hospital Medical School. During the period of World War I
, a large proportion of the hospital was used for military purposes. A dental
school was established at the same site in 1923. During this time most patients were still poor and highly vulnerable to contagious disease
s such as tuberculosis
. In 1937 the private Guthrie wing was established with a donation from the Stock Exchange Dramatic and Operatic Society for wealthier patients to enjoy less crowded wards. During the Second World War
the hospital was used for treating casualties of air raids
, and was fortunate never to sustain a major direct hit.
in 1948, the hospital was granted Teaching Hospital status. In 1974 the NHS re-organisation saw King's become the centre for all health services management in its catchment area
. The hospital's medical school was reunited with King's College in 1983 to form King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry
. A purpose-built medical education centre, the Weston Education Centre, was built in 1997 and contains a medical library as well as hosting conferences, symposia, and professional training events as well as containing public access computer rooms for students. In 1998 King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry merged with the United Medical and Dental Schools (UMDS) of Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals to form Guy's, King's and St Thomas's School of Medicine, commonly abbreviated to "GKT". In 2002 the Golden Jubilee wing was completed, which hosts a number of outpatient clinics as well as therapy suites for speech and language, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy.
King's Liver
Unit is the largest and most comprehensive service of its kind in the world, with a strong interest in pediatric liver cancers. King's also operates the largest liver transplantion programme in Europe.
There is a great deal of expertise within King's Department of Neurology
. There is a large outpatient movement disorder clinic, specialising in multidisciplinary team management of Parkinson's disease
, dystonia
, progressive supranuclear palsy
, and related diseases. It is one of only five centres in the European Union
designated a "Centre of Excellence" by the National Parkinson Foundation. In 1995 Professor Nigel Leigh established the UK's first specialist Motor Neurone Disease
Care & Research Centre, a model of care which has since been reproduced at 13 other centres throughout the country.http://www.mndassociation.org/for_professionals/contactssupport/care_centres/index.html The emphasis is on rapid diagnosis, management by a multidisciplinary team, with a strong focus on basic science
research and clinical trials.
) is the Maudsley psychiatric hospital
, which has close links with King's. The Institute of Psychiatry
is nearby and many doctors at King's collaborate with their academic colleagues in carrying out research in conditions such as Parkinson's disease
and Motor neurone disease
. The Denmark Hill Campus of King's College London is also on Denmark Hill although the main Strand campus is further along the 68 bus route at Aldwych. The nearest train station is Denmark Hill railway station
. The hospital is near Ruskin
Park on the other side of a railway line.
's documentary 24 Hours in A&E
which was first broadcast on 11 May 2011. The documentary focuses on the hospital's accident and emergency department and is filmed using 70 different camera's strategicaly placed to capture the workings of the department without interference.
Acute care
Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery...
facility in the London Borough of Lambeth
London Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...
, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It serves an inner city
Inner city
The inner city is the central area of a major city or metropolis. In the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland, the term is often applied to the lower-income residential districts in the city centre and nearby areas...
population of 700,000 in the London borough
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...
s of Southwark
London Borough of Southwark
The London Borough of Southwark is a London borough in south east London, England. It is directly south of the River Thames and the City of London, and forms part of Inner London.-History:...
and Lambeth
London Borough of Lambeth
The London Borough of Lambeth is a London borough in south London, England and forms part of Inner London. The local authority is Lambeth London Borough Council.-Origins:...
but also serves as a tertiary referral centre in certain specialties to millions of people in southern England.
Early history
King's was originally opened in 1840 in the disused St Clements Dane workhouseWorkhouse
In England and Wales a workhouse, colloquially known as a spike, was a place where those unable to support themselves were offered accommodation and employment...
in Portugal Street close to Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields
Lincoln's Inn Fields is the largest public square in London, UK. It was laid out in the 1630s under the initiative of the speculative builder and contractor William Newton, "the first in a long series of entrepreneurs who took a hand in developing London", as Sir Nikolaus Pevsner observes...
. It was used as a training facility where medical students of King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
could practice and receive instruction from the college's own professors. The surrounding area there was composed of overcrowded slums characterised by poverty and disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
. Within two years of opening, the hospital was treating 1290 inpatients in 120 bed
Bed
A bed is a large piece of furniture used as a place to sleep, relax, or engage in sexual relations.Most modern beds consist of a mattress on a bed frame, with the mattress resting either on a solid base, often wooden slats, or a sprung base...
s, with two patients sharing a bed by no means unusual. The main contractor for the new hospital was Lucas Brothers
Lucas Brothers, Builders
Lucas Brothers was a leading British building business based in London.-Early history:The business was founded by Charles Thomas Lucas and Thomas Lucas . They were the sons of James Lucas , a builder, of St Pancras, London...
.
Pioneer of aseptic surgery Joseph Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister
Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister OM, FRS, PC , known as Sir Joseph Lister, Bt., between 1883 and 1897, was a British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary...
performed the first major elective surgery under strict antiseptic conditions in 1877. He helped propel the hospital to have a surgical unit comparable with the best in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
In the first years of the 20th century, demographic changes saw a decrease in the number of patients requiring treatment in the centre of London, and an increase of patients from further afield - notably Camberwell
Camberwell
Camberwell is a district of south London, England, and forms part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is a built-up inner city district located southeast of Charing Cross. To the west it has a boundary with the London Borough of Lambeth.-Toponymy:...
, Peckham
Peckham
Peckham is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Southwark. It is situated south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London...
and Brixton
Brixton
Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in south London, England. It is south south-east of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London....
which were then suburbs on the outskirts of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Following an act of Parliament in 1904, a foundation stone was laid for the new hospital, designed by William Pite, in 1909 at its present site at Denmark Hill
Denmark Hill
Denmark Hill is an area and road in the London Borough of Southwark. The road forms part of the A215; north of Camberwell Green it becomes Camberwell Road; south of Red Post Hill it becomes Herne Hill. Its postcode is SE5. Nearby streets whose names refer to different aspects of the same...
, south of the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
. In the same year, King's College became incorporated into the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
and the hospital was established as a separate legal entity. The move to Denmark Hill provided the Hospital with a greenfield-site nearer to its patients. The building itself incorporated modern design principles to encourage adequate ventilation, used electric clocks throughout, contained only the second internal phone installation in Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
at the time, and generated its own power through the use of diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s.
Pre-clinical training of medical students remained the responsibility of King's College, whilst advanced medical training took place at the hospital under the auspices of a newly formed King's College Hospital Medical School. During the period of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, a large proportion of the hospital was used for military purposes. A dental
Dentistry
Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...
school was established at the same site in 1923. During this time most patients were still poor and highly vulnerable to contagious disease
Contagious disease
A contagious disease is a subset category of infectious diseases , which are easily transmitted by physical contact with the person suffering the disease, or by their secretions or objects touched by them....
s such as tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. In 1937 the private Guthrie wing was established with a donation from the Stock Exchange Dramatic and Operatic Society for wealthier patients to enjoy less crowded wards. During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
the hospital was used for treating casualties of air raids
Airstrike
An air strike is an attack on a specific objective by military aircraft during an offensive mission. Air strikes are commonly delivered from aircraft such as fighters, bombers, ground attack aircraft, attack helicopters, and others...
, and was fortunate never to sustain a major direct hit.
Modern history
Following the creation of the National Health ServiceNational Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
in 1948, the hospital was granted Teaching Hospital status. In 1974 the NHS re-organisation saw King's become the centre for all health services management in its catchment area
Catchment area (human geography)
In human geography, a catchment area is the area and population from which a city or individual service attracts visitors or customers. For example, a school catchment area is the geographic area from which students are eligible to attend a local school...
. The hospital's medical school was reunited with King's College in 1983 to form King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry
King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry
King's College London School of Medicine is the medical school of King's College London, and one of the United Hospitals...
. A purpose-built medical education centre, the Weston Education Centre, was built in 1997 and contains a medical library as well as hosting conferences, symposia, and professional training events as well as containing public access computer rooms for students. In 1998 King's College School of Medicine and Dentistry merged with the United Medical and Dental Schools (UMDS) of Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals to form Guy's, King's and St Thomas's School of Medicine, commonly abbreviated to "GKT". In 2002 the Golden Jubilee wing was completed, which hosts a number of outpatient clinics as well as therapy suites for speech and language, occupational therapy, and physiotherapy.
Tertiary care specialities
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
Unit is the largest and most comprehensive service of its kind in the world, with a strong interest in pediatric liver cancers. King's also operates the largest liver transplantion programme in Europe.
There is a great deal of expertise within King's Department of Neurology
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
. There is a large outpatient movement disorder clinic, specialising in multidisciplinary team management of Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
, dystonia
Dystonia
Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder, in which sustained muscle contractions cause twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. The disorder may be hereditary or caused by other factors such as birth-related or other physical trauma, infection, poisoning or reaction to...
, progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a degenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific areas of the brain....
, and related diseases. It is one of only five centres in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
designated a "Centre of Excellence" by the National Parkinson Foundation. In 1995 Professor Nigel Leigh established the UK's first specialist Motor Neurone Disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
Care & Research Centre, a model of care which has since been reproduced at 13 other centres throughout the country.http://www.mndassociation.org/for_professionals/contactssupport/care_centres/index.html The emphasis is on rapid diagnosis, management by a multidisciplinary team, with a strong focus on basic science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
research and clinical trials.
Location
On the opposite side of the A215 (Denmark HillDenmark Hill
Denmark Hill is an area and road in the London Borough of Southwark. The road forms part of the A215; north of Camberwell Green it becomes Camberwell Road; south of Red Post Hill it becomes Herne Hill. Its postcode is SE5. Nearby streets whose names refer to different aspects of the same...
) is the Maudsley psychiatric hospital
Maudsley Hospital
The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in South London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the country...
, which has close links with King's. The Institute of Psychiatry
Institute of Psychiatry
The Institute of Psychiatry is a research institution dedicated to discovering what causes mental illness and diseases of the brain. In addition, its aim is to help identify new treatments for them and ways to prevent them in the first place...
is nearby and many doctors at King's collaborate with their academic colleagues in carrying out research in conditions such as Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
and Motor neurone disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
. The Denmark Hill Campus of King's College London is also on Denmark Hill although the main Strand campus is further along the 68 bus route at Aldwych. The nearest train station is Denmark Hill railway station
Denmark Hill railway station
Denmark Hill railway station is a railway station in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England, on the Inner South London Line. The station is managed by Southeastern and is served by trains of that company and Southern. It is in Travelcard Zone 2. It is located on Champion Park in the...
. The hospital is near Ruskin
Ruskin
- Surname :*John Ruskin , an English author, poet and artist, most famous for his work as art critic and social critic, and for his writing on the architecture of Venice....
Park on the other side of a railway line.
Media
The hospital has recently featured in Channel 4Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's documentary 24 Hours in A&E
24 Hours in A&E
24 Hours in A&E is a British medical documentary set in King's College Hospital. 70 cameras filmed round the clock for 28 days, 24 hours a day in A&E it offered unprecedented access to one of Britain's busiest A&E departments.-Details:A new Channel 4 documentary series giving viewers behind the...
which was first broadcast on 11 May 2011. The documentary focuses on the hospital's accident and emergency department and is filmed using 70 different camera's strategicaly placed to capture the workings of the department without interference.
Notable alumni
- James W. BlackJames W. BlackSir James Whyte Black, OM, FRS, FRSE, FRCP was a Scottish doctor and pharmacologist. He spent his career both as researcher and as an academic at several universities. Black established the physiology department at the University of Glasgow, where he became interested in the effects of adrenaline...
- 1924-2010 Nobel Prize for MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
winner 1988 for his contribution to discoveries of important principles for drug treatment - William Bowman - 1837-1865 Ophthalmic surgeon, helped found Ophthalmological Society of the United Kingdom
- John Leonard DawsonJohn Leonard DawsonJohn Leonard Dawson CVO, FRCS was the Serjeant Surgeon to the Royal Household of the United Kingdom.Born in Leicester, in 1932. He graduated from King's College London in 1955 and after training at St James's Hospital, Balham, and at Harvard he was appointed as a consultant surgeon at King's...
- 1932-1999 Serjeant SurgeonSerjeant SurgeonThe Serjeant Surgeon is an officer of the Medical Household of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom, dating from 1253.-Pre-twentieth century :*Robert Keate FRCS 1841*Sir William Lawrence, Bt FRCS FRS...
to the Royal HouseholdRoyal HouseholdA Royal Household in ancient and medieval monarchies formed the basis for the general government of the country as well as providing for the needs of the sovereign and his relations....
of the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... - William FergussonWilliam FergussonSir William Fergusson, 1st Baronet FRCS FRS was a Scottish surgeon.-Biography:William Fergusson son of James Fergusson of Lochmaben, Dumfriesshire, was born at Prestonpans, East Lothian on 20 March 1808, and was educated first at Lochmaben and afterwards at the high school and University of...
- 1840-1877 Surgeon, introduced practice of conservative amputation - David FerrierDavid FerrierSir David Ferrier, FRS was a pioneering Scottish neurologist and psychologist.-Life:Ferrier was born in Woodside, Aberdeen and educated at Aberdeen Grammar School before studying for an MA at Aberdeen University...
- 1871-1908 Pioneering experimental neurologist - Joseph ListerJoseph Lister, 1st Baron ListerJoseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister OM, FRS, PC , known as Sir Joseph Lister, Bt., between 1883 and 1897, was a British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary...
- 1887-1893 Pioneer of antiseptic surgery
See also
- John Cutting (psychiatrist)John Cutting (psychiatrist)Dr. John Charles Cutting, who writes as Dr. John Cutting , is a British psychiatrist specializing in schizophrenia research...
- Guy's HospitalGuy's HospitalGuy's Hospital is a large NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in south east London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It is a large teaching hospital and is home to the King's College London School of Medicine...
- Maudsley HospitalMaudsley HospitalThe Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in South London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the country...
- St Thomas' HospitalSt Thomas' HospitalSt Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS hospital in London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It has provided health care freely or under charitable auspices since the 12th century and was originally located in Southwark.St Thomas' Hospital is accessible...