Odiham Cottage Hospital

Name :

Odiham Cottage Hospital

Address  :

Buryfields

Town  :

Odiham Hook

State  :

Hampshire

Country  :

UK

Post Code:

RG29 1NE

Phone  :

01256 393600

Fax  :

01256 393610

Web URL  :

Available

Email  :

secretary@odihamcottagehospital.org.uk

Description

Odiham Cottage Hospital is run through a unique partnership between the NHS and the community

In 1998 a charity now known as Odiham Cottage Hospital Charitable Trust Reg charity no 1068721 was established to save the hospital from closure The local community raised funds to purchase the hospital and carry out its complete modernisation

Today all clinical services at the hospital are provided by the NHS whilst the charity provides financial support towards these services the building and its facilities

All patients are referred by the NHS very often being cared for by their own GP

The charity is run by a board of trustees to represent the local communitys interests at the hospital They are Daphne Bolton Chair Ian MacDonald Deputy Chair Finlay Macdiarmid Hon Treas Lynne Blay Gillian MorganBrown Nick MacAndrew Dr Delia Peppercorn Sarah Wallis and Max Wildsmith

Ginny East is the parttime Secretary to the trustees based at the hospital

History

The hospitals story began over a hundred years ago when Dr John McIntyre left a bequest of pound1000 in his will to the Parish of Odiham to provide or to support a so called Village Hospital Dr McIntyre had been a GP in charge of the Odiham practice before his retirement and was used to the problems arising when patients were sent to hospital some distance from home

Seven years passed from Dr McIntyres death to the hospitals opening in the autumn of 1910 time which was spent finalising building plans and determining the ongoing running of the hospital

The cost of treating early patients had to be covered many patients were subscribers or recommended by subscribers or a contribution was requested based on the patients ability to pay Patients unable to pay for hospital treatment were sent to Winchfield workhouse infirmary or nursed at home
The two local GPs frequently performed operations administering anaesthetics themselves and long recovery periods would be spent in a bed in one of the two wards

Fundraisng continued to provide essential support to the hospital and an annual Pound Day yielded gifts of produce to supplement the kitchen store cupboard

The National Health Service

By the time the National Health Service was inaugurated in 1948 many hospitals were facing financial difficulties due to the rising cost of medical care and Odiham was no exception But the hospitals role within the community did not change greatly and it continued to serve local people

In 1968 Dr Harward the senior partner of the GP practice was largely responsible for saving the hospital from closure as part of a financial economy by the health authority Thereafter with advances in medical technology operations were no longer performed as Basingstoke hospital provided modern facilities including X ray capability

In 1978 another threat of closure this time due to staff shortages particularly a cook was averted With the hospital safe once more the Health Authority approached the League of Friends for help in financing a new Outpatient block which was used by visiting consultants from Basingstoke hospital Shortly thereafter the hospital was extended from 8 to 13 beds and again this was largely financed by the community in return for the Health Authoritys commitment to the hospital

Return to Community Ownership

At the first meeting of the newly formed North and Mid Hampshire Health Authority in April 1996 a proposal was put forward to close Odiham to help compensate for the extra financial burden following the closure of the Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot

The doctors of the local practices representing a population of over 22000 immediately formed an action group and following a public meeting in May an Action Committee chaired by Mr John Stancliffe was established After 21 months of negotiation and thanks to the overwhelming support of the community their elected representatives and the Community Health Council the Health Authority finally withdrew the closure proposal in favour of a plan to save the hospital There followed a frantic 5 month period in which the community raised the sum of pound245000 the purchase price of the hospital and on 30th June 1998 after exactly 50 years of NHS management the hospital returned to community ownership