Ministry of Health new hutted hospitals, Mount Vernon Hospital, Rickmansworth Road, Hillingdon, Greater London
A new Ministry of Health hutted hospital being built. It was just one of a ring of such hospitals that were built round London. In 1938 the Ministry of Health had purchased several acres of land at the Hospital’s site, on which ten huts were then built. These were to provid accommodation for 400 of the anticipated casualties of World War Two. It is interesting to note that although war was not declared until 1939, the government was already planning for mass casualties in 1938. In 1939 the Mount Vernon Hospital became an advanced base hospital for Middlesex Hospital, acting as a peripheral base for the teaching hospital. 35 patients were evacuated from the Mount Vernon Hospital, which provided beds for up to 1,000 patients from Middlesex Hospital who had, in turn, been evacuated so that expected casualties could be treated.
