LHB13  Western General Hospital

Collection Summary

Reference Code: GB239 LHB13
Title: Western General Hospital
Dates of Creation of Material: 1930-2010
Level of Description: Fonds
Extent and Medium of the Unit of Description: 2.7 shelf metres: bound volumes, papers


Name of creator(s): Western General Hospital
Administrative History: Origins lie in Craigleith Hospital and Poorhouse (1868). This served as an Army hospital during World War One. In 1929, the Local Government (Scotland) Act was passed. When this came into effect a year later, all poor law hospitals were transferred to the administration of large burghs and counties. As a 200 bed municipal hospital it opened to the general public and teaching facilities were soon introduced. Between 1941 and 1949 part of the Western General was given over to the Polish School of Medicine at Edinburgh and became known as the Paderewski Hospital. In 1948 it became part of Edinburgh Northern Hospitals under the South Eastern Regional Hospital Board. In 1974 it was part of the North Lothian District of Lothian Health Board. In 1986 it became part of the Royal Victoria, Western and Northern General Hospital Unit of Lothian Health Board and in 1994 the Western General NHS Trust Hospital. Presently it is part of the Lothian University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Archival History: Records held within the National Health Service prior to transfer
Immediate Source of Acquisition or Transfer: Western General Admin and Community Medicine Specialists and J. Knowles, Medical Records Officer, Western General


Scope and Content: Administration 1930-2010; plans and buildings 1954-1985; patients (bound volumes) 1930-1966; papers of the Gastro-Intestinal Unit, 1975-2000
Accruals: Further accessions are expected
System of Arrangement: Chronological within record class


Conditions Governing Access: Public access to these records is governed by UK data protection legislation, the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, and the current Scottish Government Records Management: NHS Code of Practice (Scotland).
Conditions Governing Reproduction: Reproduction is subject to closure periods and physical condition
Language/Scripts of Material: English

Related Units of Description:
Edinburgh Northern Hospitals Board of Management (LHB11)
North Lothian District, Lothian Health Board (LHB27)

Winnie Donaldson, member of Lothian Health Board (GD44)
Paderewski Hospital, Polish Medical School and University of Edinburgh Department of Medicine, WGH Edinburgh University Archives


Publication Note:
Eastwood, Martine and Jenkinson, Anne. A history of the Western General Hospital: Craigleith Poorhouse, military hospital, modern teaching hospital. Edinburgh: John Donald, 1995


Archivists' Notes: Compiled by Mike Barfoot and Jenny McDermott using existing handlists
Rules or Conventions: Description based on ISAD(G): General International Standard Archival Description International Council on Archives (2nd edition), 2000
Date(s) of Description: May 2000; updated August 2009, January 2011