History of Victoria Hospital

Winter winds of the 1850s that whistled through the cracks in the old log building housing the London General Hospital never seemed to bother the patients and the staff, but a $54 heating bill for 1858 was enough for the Provincial Inspector to suggest it was time for London to build a permanent medical facility. Seventeen years later, in august of 1875, his wish was granted.

Health care in the south west region of the province was forever changed with the opening of the new London General Hospital. Over 300 patients were treated that first year, ten times as many as were treated in the old log cabin.

From the beginning, administrators and staff focused on the holistic approach to health care bringing together clinical services, education and research. the general, private and surgical wards were the pride of city officials who managed the Hospital until 1887 when operational duties were taken on by a Board of Trustees. In 1882 a bond between the Hospital and The University of Western Ontario's Medical School formed as the first six students attended classes on Hospital grounds.

In 1899, when Queen Victoria asked that her Diamond Jubilee be celebrated by working for the sick and the poor, Hospital trustees felt that it was an appropriate time for the London General to construct a more state-of-the-art facility and change its name to Victoria Hospital.

A cornerstone of general care for the province during the Victorian era, Vic -- as it came to be known -- began to cultivate areas of specialty during the 20th century. The Hospital's commitment to paediatric care has its roots in the early 1920s when war Memorial Children's Hospital opened its doors. Children from the southwest region no longer had to brave the long trip to Toronto to seek the medical attention they needed. War Memorial is now called the Children's Hospital of Western Ontario, Vic's paediatric division, and is known world-wide for its excellence in paediatric transplants, critical care and cancer treatment.

Paying special attention to the needs of women has long been a focus at Victoria Hospital. Initially we focused on obstetrical care, ensuring support for healthy mothers and babies. The epidural, the most widely used form of pain management in deliveries today, was first used at Vic. Today, our Women's Health Care program encompasses a wide range of services including women's cancer care, a breast management program and genetic and obstetrical counselling.

A keen interest in the care of cardiac patients meant that Victoria was the first hospital in the region to perform open-heart surgery. Now, in the '90s, Victoria is an indispensable part of the Ontario Cardiac Care Network which matches patients' needs to available resources across the province in order to reduce waiting lists for a variety of cardiac procedures. Care of the body's entire circulatory system as well as the chest cavity are also an important part of the work we are doing.

In the 1940s and '50s, cancer patients began to look to Vic as their hospital of choice. We were the first hospital in the world to use the cobalt "bomb" for radiation therapy. Today, Victoria Hospital provides excellence in oncologic care through its affiliation with the London Regional Cancer Centre, and our researchers continue to look for innovative treatment methods in this complex field.

Victoria Hospital's life support services have been an integral part of the programs we offer for more than a quarter of a century. Our burn and dialysis programs have a national reputation for excellence, and our adult and paediatric critical care teams have been lauded for the excellent care they provide to the most ill of all patients. Vic is also one of a handful of Base Hospitals in the province which act as the nerve centres for trauma cases and provide helicopter, fixed-wing and ambulance transport programs.

As the city of London grew through the 20th century, so too did the need for health care. When Victoria Hospital entered its second century of caring in 1975, relocation plans meant that Victoria would become the major regional medical centre in Southwestern Ontario. That concept became a reality in 1985 when the first patients were admitted to the Hospital's "new" Westminster Campus, and Vic became a two-site operation.

Today, Victoria Hospital is indispensable to the people of Southwestern Ontario as it was 100 years ago. Nearly half-a-million patients from across the region and the province are treated by our staff every year. The Hospital's commitment to education remains strong, with more than 1100 students from a variety of health disciplines passing through our doors yearly. The spirit of inquiry is now administered by the Victoria Hospital Research Institute which manages over $7-million in research grants on an annual basis.

Victoria Hospital looks back on its long history with pride, but looks to its future with eager anticipation. Plans to consolidate our two-site operation are well underway, and, as a result, we will be treating all our patients at Westminster Campus by the year 2000.

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