Seafarers Hospital Society facts for kids
The Seafarers Hospital Society is a special charity. It helps people who work or used to work on ships in the British Merchant Navy or in the fishing fleets. It also helps their families. This charity started a long time ago, in 1821. It was first known as the Seamen's Hospital Society.
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What the Society Does Today
The society still helps seafarers. They support a special part of the NHS called the 'Dreadnought Unit'. This unit is at St Thomas's Hospital. They also help the special Hospital for Tropical Diseases. This hospital is part of the University College Hospitals London NHS Trust.
The society also helps fund a service called the Seafarers' Advice and Information Line. This service gives advice to seafarers across the country. It is run by the Greenwich Citizens Advice Bureau. The society also gives money to nursing homes for seafarers. They provide grants to those who need financial help.
How the Society Started
The first meeting for this society happened on March 8, 1821. At first, they used an old navy ship called HMS Grampus as a hospital. This hospital ship was called the Seaman's Infirmary. It opened in October 1821 in Deptford.
Important people helped start the society. These included Thomas Sturge and Zachary Macaulay. William Wilberforce was also a vice president. The king himself was the patron, which means he supported the charity.
The 1800s: Moving Hospitals
The hospital moved to other old navy ships twice. From 1831 to 1857, they used HMS Dreadnought. Then, from 1857 to 1870, they used HMS Caledonia. This ship was later renamed Dreadnought. In 1866, the Admiralty lent another ship, HMS Belleisle, to help treat people with cholera in London.
In 1869, the Royal Naval Hospital at Greenwich Hospital closed. The society was then allowed to use that building in 1870. When they moved there, the hospital became known as the Dreadnought Seamen's Hospital. It was named after their last hospital ship. This meant the Greenwich Hospital started caring for Merchant Navy members instead of just the Royal Navy. The old Dreadnought ship was still used for isolating sick people until 1872.
The Albert Dock Seamen's Hospital opened in 1890. It was a branch of the Dreadnought Seamen's Hospital. The London School of Tropical Medicine also started here in 1899. It was founded by Sir Patrick Manson. This school stayed there until 1920.
The 1900s: New Locations
In 1919, the special Hospital for Tropical Diseases (HTD) was set up. It was in central London, near Euston Square. When the Second World War started, the HTD moved back to the Dreadnought Hospital in Greenwich for safety.
The HTD moved again in 1947. Then, in 1951, it became part of the new NHS. It was set up at the St Pancras Hospital in Camden. In 1998, the HTD moved to a new, specially built place. This new home is part of the University College Hospitals London NHS Trust.
Meanwhile, the Dreadnought Seamen's Hospital in Greenwich kept helping patients until 1986. After it closed, special services for seafarers moved to the 'Dreadnought Unit' at St Thomas's Hospital in Lambeth. At first, this unit had two wards with 28 beds each. Today, Dreadnought patients are placed in the best ward for their medical needs. Since the NHS started, the Dreadnought Hospital/Unit has received its funding directly from the government.
The 2000s: A New Purpose
The old hospital building in Greenwich is now being used for something new. It is becoming a new Students' Union and study area for the University of Greenwich.
Important People Who Worked There
- Christina Graham Knight (1862-1959) was a Matron at the hospital from 1898 to 1919. She trained at The London Hospital. She became a sister at the Royal Albert Dock hospital in 1896. Then she became the matron in 1898.
See also
- Healthcare in London
- Royal Hamadryad Hospital, a hospital ship and later a seamen's hospital in Cardiff
