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18
HEALTH SERVICES OF THE AREA
HOSPITALS
General Hospital Service.
Most of the hospitals in or serving this district are in the region
covered by the North West Regional Hospital Board. The No. 11 or Hendon
Group Hospital Management Committee (Secretary, J. Fielding, Edgware
General Hospital, Tel. No. Edgware 8181) comprises the Edgware General
Hospital (647 beds and 64 maternity cribs), Hendon District Hospital
(63 beds), Colindale Hospital (205 beds), West Hendon Hospital (112 beds),
Bushey Maternity Hospital (36 lying-in and 14 ante-natal beds), Stanmore
Cottage Hospital (10 beds), Roxbourne Hospital (50 beds) and Oxhey
Grove (42 beds).
The Hospital Management Committee also administers the Harrow
Chest Clinic, 199 Station Road, Harrow and the Edgware Chest Clinic
at the Edgware General Hospital.
Because it was expected that the Charing Cross Hospital would move
out to Northwick Park, the Harrow Hospital (122 beds) was attached to
it. When, however, it was decided that the Charing Cross Hospital would
move not to Northwick Park but to Fulham, Harrow Hospital became a
member of the Harefield and Northwood Group. In this also are the
Pinner, Northwood and District Hospital (36 beds), Mount Vernon
Hospital and Radium Institute (427 beds) and the Grimsdyke Rehabilitation
Unit, Harrow Weald (50 beds).
The Stanmore Orthopaedic Hospital is a teaching hospital and is
under its own management.
When it was decided that Charing Cross Hospital would not move
out to Northwick Park, it became the responsibility of the Regional Hospital
Board to provide a new hospital there to meet the shortage of beds in
Harrow and Wembley. This new hospital has figured in a number ot
programmes but as yet, no proposals have got beyond the planning stage.
In 1958 the Minister of Health announced his decision to include the
first phase of the new Charing Cross Hospital at Northwick Park in the
1960/61 programme.
Towards the end of 1959 it was understood that the Minister was
giving top priority to the building by the North West Metropolitan Regional
Hospital Board of a 254 bed regional hospital at the Northwick Park site.
The Board later revised their ideas and decided it would be better to
provide a larger unit than that originally contemplated. The estimated
cost was expected to be double the original figure which suggested a much
larger building for the first phase of the hospital. These changes resulted
in some delay in the scheme. About the middle of the year, the Hospital
Board submitted to the Minister a Ten-year Development Programme for