Lytham Hospital 1871-1948

Lytham Hospital (Lytham Cottage Hospital and Convalescent Home), instituted for the relief of the poor when suffering from sickness or accident, was first opened in 1871, funded by Colonel John Talbot Clifton, Squire of Lytham at an original cost of £1,200.

The original building was a two storey structure with four wards containing 16 beds. There was an operating room for “cases of a severe nature”. A mortuary was located in the yard. Details of the original building are available online in a reproduction of a contemporary newspaper article

The running of the hospital was originally funded by monies raised by the local community. There is evidence of charitable contributions to support the hospital. In 1734 Elizabeth Layland left £60 for the poor or the education of children, income being derived from a piece of meadow in Freckleton, named Hanning's land. Records show that £2 2s. was given to the cottage hospital each year.

The hospital was enlarged in 1882-3 at a cost £700. There were then 25 beds, some of which were made available for patients outside a five miles radius of Lytham for a fee of 12s. 6d. per week. A new ward, in memory of the late Dr. L. Fisher, was subscribed for, and severaladditions and alterations were at a cost of £600.

Development work was performed in the 1920s, evidenced by the inclusion of a time capsule in the building that contains artifacts from that time. This was recently unearthed during demolition of the original building ,

Reproductions of original news articles are available online There are also a nice postcards depicting the hospital

The NHS years 1948-2006

Following transfer to the National Health Service in 1948, the hospital expanded in size and capacity to offer more services to the community. At the time of NHS transfer, the Governors and Trustees of the Hospital formed a Hospital League of Friends which continued to raise funds to support the work of the hospital.

The hospital was mainly for acute services and offered a maternity service. A new wing containing additional wards was later constructed.

During the 1980s a small casualty department was staffed by local doctors. The wards were available for post-operative care of patients who had attended the nearby Blackpool main hospital. Respite care was also available.

NHS Choices recorded services as follows in the early part of the 2000's. The unit had thirty beds across two wards offering acute services for inpatients and day cases in general, orthopaedic, dental and podiatric surgery. The hospital also provided many outpatient clinics.

A record from the National Archive is available for consultation . This is part of the Hospital Records Database

Hospital Records Database

The Hospital Records Database is a database provided by the Wellcome Trust and UK National Archives which provides information on the existence and location of the records of UK hospitals. This includes the location and dates of administrative and clinical records, the existence of catalogues, and...

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Records from a range of sources are available in the Lancashire Records office.

During the late 1990s the sustainability of the hospital was reviewed.

Documents related to the hospital are available from Lytham heritage Group.

Lytham Hospital 2006-9

In 2006 a consultation was started to demolish the original hospital. . Fylde Primary Care Trust (PCT), in partnership with Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust announced a plan to demolish Lytham Hospital and erect a new Primary Care Centre in its place. Lytham Hospital’s in-patient and operating facilities would be transferred to Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Following a planning application, which was subject to a review by the Lancashire Archeology team , in 2008 the original Lytham Hospital building was demolished to make way for a new building to house the Primary Care Trust and two general practices , which were relocated from original buildings elsewhere in Lytham, to serve the local communilty.

The new Lytham Primary Care Centre building opened in June 2009. The plans are available online . Together with some images of the new building, which has a three-floor open atrium at its centre, bringing a great feeling of space into the environment.

The more modern wards of the original Lytham Hospital have been retained next to the newly built Primary Care Centre as a base for a community mental health team for older adults with both inpatient and day unit facilities (Talbot Ward and Ansdell Ward) run by Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust.

• Talbot Ward, Lytham Hospital (20 bed assessment unit for dementia / organic conditions)
• Ansdell Ward, Lytham Hospital (20 bed assessment unit for functional mental health conditions)