History of Ealing Hopsital
Did you know small community funded ‘cottage hospitals provided care for people in Ealing before the creation of the NHS, or that a local nurse was awarded the highest civilian honour for bravery for saving a patient’s life?
The history of Ealing Hospital and its predecessors is the subject of an exhibition being shown in the hospital’s mezzanine gallery on the third floor.
It captures nearly 200 years of healthcare reflecting the people and events that have helped shape the hospital. Some visitors were more familiar than others since TV cameras interviewed the hospital’s first inpatient,
Eva Cook, in 1979. Mrs Cook told ITV News she was so excited about being interviewed she couldn’t sleep the night before, while s patient in the adjoining bed said: “They should call this the New Ealing Hilton. I’m in no hurry to go home.”
Famous visitors include rock star Elton John, actor Ian McKellen, Olympian Linford Christie, and royal Princess Anne.
The hospital sits in the grounds of what was once one of the largest asylums in the country.
It was here in 1910 that nurse Hilda Wolsey was presented with the Albert Medal for her actions in following a patient onto a roof at Hanwell Asylum and restraining them until help arrived.
“I didn’t stop to think,” recalled the 23-year-old who inched her way along the edge of the guttering 25 feet above the ground to reach the distressed woman.
“I only knew that I must keep my head clear and hold on as well as I could. The six minutes we stood together on the roof seemed terribly long.”
Hilda was awarded the Albert Medal by King George V at Buckingham Palace.
The nurse later exchanged it for the George Medal - the modern-day equivalent of its predecessor. She later donated the medal and her citation to hospital which later named a building in her honour.
The exhibition can be accessed via the stairs opposite WHSmith in the main entrance.