Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine
Encyclopedia
The Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine (formerly the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital) is a specialist complementary medicine
hospital
located in London
, United Kingdom
. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
and is located in the Bloomsbury
area of Central London
, adjacent to Great Ormond Street Hospital
.
The hospital is the largest public sector provider of complementary medicine in Europe
. It offers clinical services including complementary cancer treatments, allergy
services, acupuncture
, homeopathy
, rheumatology
, weight loss
management, sleep management
, musculoskeletal medicine and stress management
, and has access to conventional medicine. It has the largest education department of its kind in the UK, offering full and part-time courses in complementary medicine for registered health professionals. It is also home to the most comprehensive specialist library for complementary and alternative medicine in the UK.
, Soho
, in 1849. Frederic Hervey Foster Quin
, the first homeopathic physician in England, had been instrumental in the founding of the hospital. It moved to its present site in Great Ormond Street in 1859, the year when Quin took the chair of therapeutics and materia medica in the medical school. In 1948 the hospital joined the NHS
as a teaching hospital and became the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital by permission of George VI
. In 1982 the hospital was brought under the management of the Bloomsbury Health Authority and in 2002 it joined University College London Hospitals NHS Trust (now University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
). The hospital was renamed the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine in September 2010 to better reflect its activities.
The hospital operates on an outpatients clinic basis but has access to inpatient services.
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
located in 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...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The 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...
. It is part of the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust based in London, United Kingdom. It comprises the Eastman Dental Hospital, The Heart Hospital, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, the Royal London Hospital for...
and is located in the Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury
-Places:* Bloomsbury is an area in central London.* Bloomsbury , related local government unit* Bloomsbury, New Jersey, New Jersey, USA* Bloomsbury , listed on the NRHP in Maryland...
area of Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, adjacent to Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
.
The hospital is the largest public sector provider of complementary medicine 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...
. It offers clinical services including complementary cancer treatments, allergy
Allergy
An Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...
services, acupuncture
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
, homeopathy
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
, rheumatology
Rheumatology
Rheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...
, weight loss
Weight loss
Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health or physical fitness, is a reduction of the total body mass, due to a mean loss of fluid, body fat or adipose tissue and/or lean mass, namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon and other connective tissue...
management, sleep management
Sleep medicine
Sleep medicine is a medical specialty or subspecialty devoted to the diagnosis and therapy of sleep disturbances and disorders. From the middle of the 20th century, research has provided increasing knowledge and answered many questions about sleep-wake functioning. The rapidly evolving field has...
, musculoskeletal medicine and stress management
Stress management
Stress management is the alteration of stress and especially chronic stress often for the purpose of improving everyday functioning.Stress produces numerous symptoms which vary according to persons, situations, and severity. These can include physical health decline as well as depression. According...
, and has access to conventional medicine. It has the largest education department of its kind in the UK, offering full and part-time courses in complementary medicine for registered health professionals. It is also home to the most comprehensive specialist library for complementary and alternative medicine in the UK.
History
The London Homoeopathic Hospital was established in Golden SquareGolden Square
Golden Square, Soho, London in the City of Westminster is one of the historic squares of Central London. The square is just east of Regent Street and north of Piccadilly Circus....
, Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, in 1849. Frederic Hervey Foster Quin
Frederic Hervey Foster Quin
Frederic Hervey Foster Quin was the first homeopathic physician in England.-Life:Quin was born in London on 12 Feb. 1799, and passed his early years at a school at Putney, kept by a son of Mrs. Sarah Trimmer, the author. In 1817 he was sent to Edinburgh University, where he graduated M.D. on 1...
, the first homeopathic physician in England, had been instrumental in the founding of the hospital. It moved to its present site in Great Ormond Street in 1859, the year when Quin took the chair of therapeutics and materia medica in the medical school. In 1948 the hospital joined the NHS
National 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...
as a teaching hospital and became the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital by permission of George VI
George VI of the United Kingdom
George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...
. In 1982 the hospital was brought under the management of the Bloomsbury Health Authority and in 2002 it joined University College London Hospitals NHS Trust (now University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS foundation trust based in London, United Kingdom. It comprises the Eastman Dental Hospital, The Heart Hospital, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, the Royal London Hospital for...
). The hospital was renamed the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine in September 2010 to better reflect its activities.
Services
The following clinical services are currently provided at the hospital:- Adult allergyAllergyAn Allergy is a hypersensitivity disorder of the immune system. Allergic reactions occur when a person's immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment. A substance that causes a reaction is called an allergen. These reactions are acquired, predictable, and rapid...
- Autogenic trainingAutogenic trainingAutogenic training is a relaxation technique developed by the German psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz and first published in 1932. The technique involves the daily practice of sessions that last around 15 minutes, usually in the morning, at lunch time, and in the evening. During each session,...
- Children’s healthPediatricsPediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
- Complementary cancer care
- FibromyalgiaFibromyalgiaFibromyalgia is a medical disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain and allodynia, a heightened and painful response to pressure. It is an example of a diagnosis of exclusion...
- General medicine
- Group acupunctureAcupunctureAcupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
- Herbal medicineHerbalismHerbalism is a traditional medicinal or folk medicine practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. Herbalism is also known as botanical medicine, medical herbalism, herbal medicine, herbology, herblore, and phytotherapy...
- Homeopathic Medicine
- PodiatryPodiatryPodiatry is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and lower leg. The term podiatry came into use first in the early 20th century United States, where it now denotes a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine , a specialist who is qualified by their...
and chiropody - Medical hypnosisHypnosisHypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
- Musculoskeletal
- PharmacyPharmacyPharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
- RheumatologyRheumatologyRheumatology is a sub-specialty in internal medicine and pediatrics, devoted to diagnosis and therapy of rheumatic diseases. Clinicians who specialize in rheumatology are called rheumatologists...
- Skin
- StressStress (biology)Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
and mood disorderMood disorderMood disorder is the term designating a group of diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classification system where a disturbance in the person's mood is hypothesized to be the main underlying feature... - Women’s health
The hospital operates on an outpatients clinic basis but has access to inpatient services.