Homerton University Hospital

On Sunday 5 July 1986, exactly 38 years after the establishment of the NHS, Homerton University Hospital opened on the site of the former Eastern Fever and Smallpox Hospital on Homerton Row. Construction began on the new Homerton Hospital in 1982, but it had been planned by a number of staff at Hackney Hospital since the mid-1970s. Dr Tunstall Pedoe, a cardiologist at Hackney Hospital, was very involved in setting up the new Homerton University Hospital – eventually becoming Chair of the Commissioning Team – an achievement of which he was particularly proud. When the Homerton opened it was the first new hospital to have been built in Hackney for well over 70 years. It was designed to bring together all general hospital services from across Hackney, which led to the closure of Hackney Hospital, the Mothers’ Hospital, St Leonard’s Hospital and the German Hospital. Designed by leading hospital architects Yorke, Rosenberg and Mardall it was influenced by the idea of a “total healthcare delivery system” developed in line with Professor McKeon’s concept of the ‘balanced teaching hospital’ – a large complex that replaced the separate hospitals for the acutely ill, mentally ill, and for those suffering from special diseases or conditions.

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