Royal Cornwall Infirmary

Royal Cornwall infirmary the opened in Truro On 12 August 1799 paid for by George IV. It was the first of its kind in Cornwall and was designed to service the mining community. Initially holding 20 beds, the infirmary was expanded to include 180 beds in 1939. After the formation of the NHS, a new hospital was built at Treliske

On August 12 the Royal Cornwall Infirmary was opened to serve Cornwall’s mining community and the poor. It had 20 beds, 10 for women, and 10 for men, on separate floors, and it was funded by subscription.

In its first year, 47 patients were admitted, but as many as seven or eight beds were often vacant, possibly because local Cornish suspicions, already voiced in the press.

In 1868 a West wing extension and new operating room were built at a cost of £123 18s 0d. In 1869 healthcare improved further when a nursing system for nurse training modelled on the Nightingale School was introduced. In 1889 the Ophthalmology department opened, followed by a Dentistry department in 1894.

Two 500 kg bombs were dropped over Truro, one virtually demolished the south wing of the hospital. A ward sister, a nurse and 3 visiting relatives were killed.

The NHS was introduced in 1948, and in 1968 HRH Princess Alexandra officially opened the new hospital at Treliske.

City Hospital began to transfer its services to Treliske in 1992, and it finally closed in 1999.

The £27 million Trelawny Wing at the Royal Cornwall Hospital was officially opened in 1998

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Wikipedia