Victoria Hospital (London, Ontario)

Victoria Hospital, in London, Ontario, Canada, is a large teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Western Ontario. Along with University Hospital it is part of London Health Sciences Centre. The dedication of Victoria Hospital occurred November 16, 1899. At that time, it replaced the London General Hospital which had been created in 1875.The first hospital on the grounds of Victoria Park was part of a military barracks. "The Framed Hospital" built in 1838 eventually became Victoria Hospital which today is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in Canada.HistoryLondon General HospitalVictoria Hospital traces its origins to the London General Hospital, constructed to replace an aging log cabin hospital operating in Victoria Park. The site of the London General Hospital, located on Ottoway Avenue (now South Street), was dedicated in 1874. The hospital opened the next year, with 56 beds on two floors.Teaching hospitalIn 1881, the Western University in London sought to create a Faculty of Medicine but lacked an appropriate facility. The following spring, the university purchased a cottage on St. James Street near the university campus to be renovated for a classroom facility. The medical school entered into an agreement with City Council to use the hospital for medical training, in exchange for an annual fee of $5.00 per student. The first class of sixteen students began instruction on October 1, 1882. The hospital itself opened a training program for nurses the following year, making London the third city in Canada with such a program.