LHB6  Leith Hospital

Collection Summary

Reference Code: GB239 LHB6
Title: Leith Hospital
Dates of Creation of Material: 1846-2008
Level of Description: Fonds
Extent and Medium of the Unit of Description: 14.8 shelf metres: bound volumes, papers


Name of creator(s): Leith Hospital
Administrative History: Origins lie in the Edinburgh and Leith Humane Society, 1788. A dispensary opened in 1815 followed by a casualty hospital in 1837. Both combined to form Leith Hospital in 1848, which was formally incorporated in 1907. Thereafter it served as a general hospital for men, women and children and included an accident unit. Women medical students were admitted for clinical instruction in 1886. Leith Hospital became part of the Edinburgh Northern Hospitals under the South Eastern Regional Hospital Board. From 1974, it was part of the North Lothian District of Lothian Health Board. The hospital closed in 1987 and functions were transferred to Western General Hospital.
Archival History: Records held within the National Health Service prior to transfer
Immediate Source of Acquisition or Transfer: Leith Hospital Administrator, May 1986


Scope and Content: Management 1846-1948; administration 1905-1985; patients (bound records) 1904-1987
Accruals: No 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


Existence and Location of Originals:
Existence and Location of Copies:
Related Units of Description:
Beattie, Isa, nurse (GD1/42)
Bruce, Alexander Ninian (GD1/43)
Edinburgh Northern Hospitals Board of Management (LHB11)
North Lothian District, Lothian Health Board (LHB27)
Pathology Department, University of Edinburgh (GD20)
Penicillin, wartime distribution to civilians (GD1/74)
Western General Hospital (LHB13)
Publication Note:
Boyd, David H.A. Leith Hospital 1848-1988 Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press, 1990
Hoy, Christine A Beacon in Our Town: The Story of Leith Hospital Edinburgh, 1988


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; last updated August 2009.