From Lost Hospitals of London: https://ezitis.myzen.co.uk/whippscross.html In 1889 the West Ham Guardians bought Forest House and its estate of 44 acres of grounds as a site for a future infirmary, for which pla ing approval was granted in 1894. The old mansion house was then used from that year as an a exe to the West Ham Union workhouse in Leyton to accommodate elderly infirm men. Building work on the new infirmary began in 1900 and was completed three years later, having cost over £186,000. The West Ham Union Infirmary opened in 1903. It comprised a central administration building with ward blocks on either side.nAlthough originally there had been no operating theatre, this was soon added, although it was known as the 'operating room' as the word 'theatre' was considered to be too alarming to the patients. By 1912 some 350 operations a year were being performed. During WW1, in 1917 part of the Infirmary became the Whipps Cross War Hospital. It was affiliated to the Colchester Military Hospital and 240 beds were given over for wounded and sick servicemen. King George V and Queen Mary visited in November 1917, commenting on the magnificence of the buildings. The Queen presented medals and certificates to the nurses who has passed their Final examinations that years. By the end of the war in 1918 the Infirmary had become a general hospital. Its name was changed to Whipps Cross Hospital. During the 1920s the first specialist consultants were appointed to the medical staff. They established departments in dermatology, ophthalmology, genitourinary surgery and ear, nose and throat conditions. In 1926 the Board of Guardians who managed the Hospital were dismissed by Neville Chamberlain, the Minister of Health, as they had run up a debt of £250,000. In 1930 the Boards of Guardians were abolished and control of the Hospital was taken over by West Ham Borough Council. The Council added new ward blocks and, by 1936, the Hospital had 741 beds and had been recognised as a training school for nurses. During the years 1938-1940 four new blocks were built at the eastern end of the original buildings. During WW2 the Hospital joined the Emergency Medical Service, with 388 of its 744 beds reserved for civilian air-raid casualties. In 1948 the Hospital joined the NHS under the control of the Leytonstone Group Hospital Management Committee, part of the North East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. It had 1,044 beds, of which 846 were open. In 1951 the Wilfred Lawson Temperance Hotel in Woodford Green was purchased by the Regional Hospital Board as additional accommodation for 50 nurses. The Hospital Management Committee decided to use the premises also as a Preliminary Training School for student nurses; this opened on a temporary basis in October 1951. The nurses' badges bore the Hospital's motto: Semper ad coelum (always aim high). In 1963, when the Hospital had 978 beds, it transferred to the control of the Forest Group Hospital Management Committee. In 1965 a Medical Education Centre opened. It was one of the first in England. An Intensive Care Unit opened in 1968, as did a Hyperbaric Unit. In 1974, following a major reorganisation of the NHS, the Hospital came under the control of the West Roding District Health Authority, part of the Redbridge and Waltham Forest Area Health Authority of the North East Thames Regional Health Authority. It had 862 beds. The Medical Education Centre was extended the same year. In 1982, after another major reorganisation of the NHS, the Hospital came under the administration of the Waltham Forest District Health Authority. In 1987 the Margaret Centre opened to provide palliative care for patients with life-limiting illnesses. In 1992, following the introduction of more reforms of the NHS, the Hospital became a trust - the Forest Healthcare NHS Trust. By 1997 the Hospital was in deep financial crisis, with a deficit of £4m. The long waits in the Accident & Emergency Department for patients on trolleys, cancelled operations and neglect of elderly patients on wards placed it as the second worst in the whole country for complaints (it is not stated which was the first). In 2001 the Forest Healthcare NHS Trust was dissolved and the Hospital came under the management of the Whipps Cross University Hospital NHS Trust. The Hospital celebrated its centenary in 2003. A new Emergency Medical Centre was opened. Work began in 2011 at the northern part of the site for a new £23m Emergency and Urgent Care Centre, which opened in May 2012. The building incorporates the former Accident and Emergency Department and the Walk-In Centre. Because of the continuing financial problems and uncertainties over its future, a scheme for redevelopment of the site intended to begin in 2012 was abandoned. Instead, early in 2011, the Trust negotiated with the Barts and the London NHS Trust and the Newham University Hospital NHS Trust to create a new trust. The mergers were successful and the Barts Health NHS Trust came into being on 1st April 2012, the largest NHS Trust in the country. €¨Newham Archives, Stratford Reference Library, holds administrative records from 1900-1957, ephemera from 1917-1957 and pictoral records from 1900-1939. Waltham Forest Archives holds administrative records from 1875-1975, including staff records from 1932.
