A Brief History

The Birmingham Women's Hospital has a proud history of compassion and expertise that stretches back over 125 years.

the early years

In 1871, Birmingham surgeon Robert Lawson Tait and four of his colleagues founded a new venture, the Birmingham and Midland Hospital for Women, which was to be a hospital devoted entirely to "the alleviation of diseases peculiar to women." It was only made possible after a public meeting with the support of prominent members of the community.

With only eight beds and overwhelming popularity, the first hospital's capacity proved totally inadequate. In 1878 the hospital moved to a converted farmhouse in Stratford Road, Sparkhill, boosting capacity to 21 beds. But with the demand for treatment ever increasing, in 1904 the Hospital President, Mr Arthur Chamberlain, laid the foundation stone of a new, purpose-built hospital in Showell Green Lane.

With the help of generous donations and subscriptions, the hospital continued to grow in capacity, diversity and expertise.

the 1900s

In 1907 Loveday Street Maternity Hospital was opened in the city centre, followed by Sorrento Maternity Hospital on Wake Green Road in 1929, further enriching the healthcare available to women. Both these hospitals gave first class services to women, until their respective closures in 1968 and 1993, transferring entirely to the Birmingham Maternity Hospital.

The Birmingham Maternity Hospital, Edgbaston, was opened in 1968, the result of plans first formed over 30 years before. It encouraged more mothers to have their babies in hospital, leading to an overall drop in the mortality rate for mothers.

bringing us up to date

After major refurbishment was completed in 1995, the new Birmingham Women's Hospital was officially opened at a special ceremony by the Duchess of Gloucester in 1996. Since the inception of the Birmingham Women's Healthcare NHS Trust in 1994, the hospital has continued to set standards for the treatment of women.

To assist in making the hospital feel more like a home, an 18 month charity appeal raised over £700,000 to provide those extra comforts that make it 'a place that women and their families choose first and where people want to work.' One hundred and twentyfive years after the opening of the first hospital dedicated to women's healthcare, the viability of that original vision has triumphantly been proven.

This page was last modified on Thu Feb 02 2012