Attaching electrodes to the head of a patient, Sutton Emergency Hospital, Sutton, Greater London

A man attaching electrodes to the head of a patient at Sutton Emergency Hospital. Prior to World War One the buildings that became the hospital were part of a workhouse. During World War One the workhouse was used as a hospital for German prisoners of war, with 92 beds for officers and 1,175 for other ranks. It was also an internment camp with 90 beds for civilian 'enemy aliens' awaiting repatriation. After World War One it returned to being a workhouse for unemployed men. In 1930 it was taken over by London City Council and turned into a training centre for unemplyed men. It was at the start of World War Two that it became Sutton Emergency Hospital. The goverment feared mass hysteria at the start of the war so it was designated a neurosis unit - the Sutton Neurosis Centre. This was not the case and they treated a wide variety of casualties as well as those with neurological issues. In 1946 it was renamed the Belmont Hospital, specialising in psychiatric medicine. It remained an Emergency Hospital until July 1948, when it joined the NHS.

Location

Period

Themes

Tags