History of the Hospitals

Doncaster Royal Infirmary started life as the Doncaster Dispensary in French Gate (now Greyfriars Road) in 1792. The foundation stone of the first purpose-built hospital in Doncaster, St James' Hospital, was laid in 1852. It was demolished in 1963 to make way for town improvements. An infirmary was opened in 1867 as the Doncaster General Infirmary and Dispensary. Within 20 years, the hospital was too small and unsuitable for the town's needs and developments in medicine. A three-day fund-raising bazaar was opened by HRH Princess Christian, and this connection led to Home Office approval for the institution to be known as Doncaster Royal Infirmary and Dispensary. Plans for another new hospital came to fruition in 1930, when the first part on Thorne Road (now the West Ward Block) opened to patients. The East Ward Block opened in 1968, the Women's Hospital in 1969, and the Children's Hospital in 1989.

Bassetlaw Hospital, Worksop celebrated 100 years of healthcare on the Kilton Hill site in 2002. Hospital services began with the opening of the 5-bed Victoria Hospital in 1900. It became part of the NHS in 1948 and was demolished in 1996. The foundation stone for Kilton Hospital (now Bassetlaw Hospital) was laid in 1902; it was known as Worksop's Poor Law Infirmary and cost £18,300 to build. The first phase of the new hospital was opened on the same site in 1984. Work was completed in 1987 and casualty and inpatient facilities at Retford Hospital were transferred to the new site in 1988.

The origins of the Montagu Hospital were in buildings donated by local landowner, Andrew Montagu. A 14-bed hospital was opened in 1890 in Bank Street. By 1900, the hospital was too small, and land at the junction of Adwick Rd and Cemetery Rd was purchased for £756. Financial problems dogged the hospital - in 1920, working men agreed to increase their subscriptions to the hospital from a penny to tuppence a week. More land was bought and buildings erected, with 19 foundation stones laid by members of the Board of Management, local dignitaries, and workers' representatives at the start of further building work in 1924. By 1925, workers were contributing threepence a week to the hospital's upkeep. With minor changes, the hospital continued in much the same form for 50 years. Significant investment was made, particularly in the 1990s, improving and expanding the services provided.

Tickhill Road Hospital is on the site of a former isolation hospital and sanatorium, built between 1928 and 1930. The hospital consisted of two children's wards, where infectious diseases such as diphtheria and polio were treated, a psychiatric unit, female chest unit and sanatorium, and male sanatorium, which was located slightly away from the other wards. The original kitchen is still in use, as is the nurses' building. In the earliest days as an isolation, or 'fever', hospital, the porters had to post a daily information bulletin on the perimeter fence to give details of patients' conditions and of any deaths. 1966 saw the opening of the elderly care unit, with Ash, Elm and Pine Wards opened by The Lord Amulree MD FRCP on 12  October. Linden was added in the early '70s. Its name was changed to Rowan Lodge, and it is now a stroke unit. These four wards, providing elderly rehabilitation services, transferred to management by this Trust from April 2002, to streamline services to patients leaving the acute hospital setting but needing further rehabilitation.

Retford Hospital was built in 1922; the foundation stone was laid by the Mayor of Retford, Alderman SH Clay, on behalf of subscribers to the Retford War Memorial Fund. It comprised two wards, a private patients' wing, an operating theatre, casualty service, and X-ray. It was extended in the late 1960s and early 1970s with two more wards, which were used for long-stay, elderly patients. The operating theatre was closed in 1980 and inpatient services were transferred to Bassetlaw Hospital in the late 1980s. The newer wards were converted to outpatient accommodation and a Physiotherapy/Occupational Therapy Department. Genito-urinary Medicine was located at Retford Hospital in the early 1990s.
The site is now owned by Bassetlaw Primary Care Trust, which leases areas to the Trust to provide a range of services. The site also encompasses Bassetlaw Hospice, built in 1994, and Nottinghamshire County Council's Meals-on-Wheels service.