West Middlesex University Hospital

Architect Mr W.H. Ward

Opened 1902

Patients 124,000 outpatients a year in the 1990's

Closed Final Closure in 2004 

Other Opened by Princess Christian, Ruchill in Glasgow was also opened by the Princess.

The Infirmary for the New Brentford Workhouse was built on the site of the original workhouse which had become too small for local needs, to the front there was a main road and to the rear a Graveyard.

It became known as The West Middlesex Hospital in the 1920's. Sadly the infirmary complete with mortuary is now the only part of the 2nd Brentford Workhouse which is still standing. The rest was demolished in the late 1990's to make way for a new West Middlesex Hospital, which you can actually see from some of the derelict buildings.

The mortuary of the hospital is quite an amazing visit, definitely the largest I have been to so far with three mortuary slabs and with all the hoses still attached. There were even bars of soap with the Royal crest in the wash area! The body storage area is also large and has its own bio hazard section for bodies of unknown origin to be stored in!!

Moving on into the hospital section we were amazed to find a lot of things still in situ, including a lot of wax samples left in what looked to be a storage area, there weren't just a few that were left behind there were hundreds if not thousands some even stored in old cigarette tins. A lot of the wards were stripped but every now and again you could walk into one and there would be beds medicine notes and even gowns and vials.

On the ground floor was the operating rooms with their lamps still attached to the ceiling, glove sizes of the people who worked here were displayed on the wall. Intensive Care was also on the ground floor although stripped it was quite obvious to tell what it once was. The children's unit had been expanded at one point in the past and was now situated in a jumble of add on buildings.

The plans for the new hospital were still on the walls and stored in boxes in the administration area, even the wring and ventilation diagrams.......... which makes me think I hope they don't need them in a hurry as they would probably have to ask and explorer to retrieve them as all the external doors are boarded!

West Middlesex Tour Gallery