Hawkmoor Hospital, originally known as Hawkmoor County Sanatorium, was a specialist hospital near Bovey Tracey in Devon, England, founded in 1913 as a pulmonary tuberculosis sanatorium as part of a network of such facilities,[1] instigated by the Public Health (Tuberculosis Regulations) 1912.[2] From 1948, the hospital catered for patients with a range of chest ailments (including tuberculosis), as well as chest surgery, and mental disability patients. From 1973, the facility dealt solely with mental health problems until its closure in 1987.[1]
| Hawkmoor Hospital | |
|---|---|
 Hawkmoor House, Hawkmoor Hospital | |
  Shown in Devon | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Bovey Tracey, Devon, England, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 50°36′57″N 3°41′37″W / 50.6157°N 3.6935°W |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Public NHS |
| Type | specialist |
| Services | |
| Speciality | 1913-1948 Tuberculosis 1948-1972 Pulmonary disorders, chest surgery, mental disability 1972-1987 Mental disability |
| History | |
| Opened | 1913 |
| Closed | 1987 |
| Links | |
| Lists | Hospitals in England |
History
edit
The hospital, which formed part of a nationwide network of sanatoria designed for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis and made possible by central government grants worth £1.5 million awarded under the Finance Act 1912, opened in 1913.[3] The sanatorium initially opened in temporary accommodation with 40 beds available. The main building not completed until over a year later.[3] Training of nurses was shared by arrangement with the Royal Cornwall Infirmary in Truro.[4]
In 1925, the sanatorium innovated with the production of prints of chest x-rays straight on to bromide paper, with copies then be added to the patient's file and straight to the local tuberculosis officer.[5]
After the sanatorium joined the National Health Service in 1948,[1] the scope of treatment offered was expanded to include all pulmonary disorders as well as the acceptance of mental health services. It opened a specialist thoracic surgery unit and also offered services to treat conditions such as sarcoidosis and pulmonary carcinoma from 1950.[6] It was generally known as Hawkmoor Chest Hospital,[7] or simply as Hawkmoor Hospital.[8][9][10]
In 1948, Hawkmoor, with its 210 beds, was the largest hospital in the Exeter Special Management Committee, which managed all the TB and smallpox hospitals in the area.[11] In 1949, the training of nurses was moved to Royal Devon and Exeter, being somewhat closer than Plymouth and Truro.[11]
By the mid-1950s, the hospital was taking a range of conditions including treating trauma from motoring injuries, and dealing with children swallowing foreign bodies. The average length of stay at Hawkmoor was six months, compared to three weeks at a normal general hospital.[12] The hospital became the area's main chest and thoracic surgery centre, although staff recruitment and retention proved an issue,[13] with staff seconded over from Torbay hospital as required.[14]
The hospital had close ties with the 'league of friends' and other co-operative societies from the other local hospitals in Torbay and Newton Abbot, who often helped with the fundraising for facilities and equipment at Hawkmoor, due to the high number of people from those areas treated at Hawkmoor.[15][16][17][18]
Tuberculosis gradually declined, with TB making up less than 20% of the caseload of the hospital by 1962,[19] and other hospitals in Devon, such as the Hawley Hospital in Barnstaple were closed in 1963, leading to TB patients from across the county being taken to Hawkmoor.[20][21]
In 1966, the hospital was criticised for not having a mechanical ventilator available, leading to one having to be rushed from Chesham in Buckinghamshire under police escort as well as special traffic light control, for a baby who developed complications after an operation, with the cost of the transport operation being as much as the purchase of the machine would have cost.[22][23]
By the early 1970s, the hospital was treating a number of patients with mental or learning disabilities.[24]
In 1972, the pulmonary disease facilities were withdrawn,[25] and in 1973 it was announced that chest surgery would be moved from Hawkmoor to the new Wonford hospital when it was completed in 1974, and that the hospital would then specialise in mental disability.[24]
In the mid-1980s the closure of the hospital was announced. Controversy was created when some residents were moved to a facility in Bovey Tracey, newly purchased by the health authority.[26]
The hospital closed on 31 July 1987,[27][28] with all the contents from the hospital, as well as on-site church, and theatre sold by auction.[27]
The site has since been redeveloped for residential use as Hawkmoor Parke.[29]
Site and buildings
edit
The hospital was spread out over the hillside across a number of blocks and buildings.
The buildings included:[30]
- the Sanatorium, built in 1913
- the Hostel, built in 1914
- the Pavilion Ward block
- a recreational hall, built in 1922
- a chapel built in 1928
- a nurses' hostel
- a further ward block
- the hospital for people with learning difficulties
- a staff canteen, built in 1949[11]
During construction, care was taken to ensure that dampness was minimised for the respiratory patients, and specialist techniques such as waterproof cement bases were used.[31]
The hospital had a library, with the British Red Cross providing the service for patients, and the Devon county library service providing the reference library for staff.[11] From 1949, there was also a cinema projector to show 'talkie' films.[11]
At some point, a 'pleasure tower' was built at the hospital, but this was in ruins by the time of a National Trust survey in 1986.[32]
With patients often on long recuperative stays, there was a dedicated workshop where patients would make wooden gates, doors, and farm hurdles for sale.[5]
A set of cottages, called Hawkmoor Cottages, were built as workers' housing in 1949 and 1950,[11] at the bottom of the hill, and these are now private housing.[30]
Location and transport
editThe hospital site is served by a private drive linked to the A382 road between Bovey Tracey and Moretonhampstead.[33]
From 1931 until 1959, Hawkmoor was also served by a railway station on the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway with a station originally called Hawkmoor Halt, but later changed to be called Pullabrook Halt.[34] The railway station was simple with a platform constructed of sleepers and a small waiting room, and was frequently used by visitors to the hospital.[34] Whilst only 3/4 mile directly from the station to the hospital, the distance required to be travelled was more than double that.[34]
From 1914 to the 1950s, patients were often brought from the railways halt to the hospital by a horse-drawn vehicle from the hospital, and in the early 1950s, Devon County Council provided a motor van to move patients.[35]
The railways was also used for transporting goods, including blood for transfusions at Hawkmoor Hospital.[36]
With the distance from the halt, patients and visitors were often confused about how to reach the hospital, and train guards would advise passengers to alight at Bovey Tracey and take the bus, which passed the bottom of the hospital drive. This led to the name change to Pullabrook Halt.[36]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Hospital Records - Hawkwoor". The National Archives. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ Lloyd, J Henry (1914). Medical and sanatorium benefit regulations.
- ^ a b "Written Answers (Commons) - Sanatoria HC Deb". Hansard. 65: 1578–9W. 30 July 1914. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
- ^ "Education and Examination" (PDF). The British Journal of Nursing. 87: 211. August 1939. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
- ^ a b "Random jottings of a hospital man on a "busman's holiday" in England". The Modern Hospital. 25 (3): 230–231. September 1925.
- ^ "Obituary - N P W Littler". British Medical Journal. 290 (6461): 84. 5 January 1985. PMC 1415426.
- ^ "Hawkmoor Chest Hospital". Torquay Times. 11 September 1953.
- ^ "Hospital friends call for cash". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. 19 February 1966.
- ^ "Women's institute, Bovey Tracey". Western Times. 30 June 1950.
- ^ "Civic heads at Teignmouth ball". Tobay Express and South Devon Echo. 5 October 1956.
- ^ a b c d e f Report for nine months from 5th July, 1948 to 31st March, 1949. Exeter Special Hospital Management Committee. July 1949.
- ^ "Hawkmoor needs extra amenities". Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser. 27 July 1956.
- ^ "Big Drop in TB cases says hospital report". Torbay and South Devon Echo. 4 December 1958.
- ^ "Hospital in need of nurses". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. 2 October 1959.
- ^ "Hospital plans for day rooms". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. 1 October 1963.
- ^ "Scheme to help Hawkmoor". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo.
- ^ "Hospital's thanks for library". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. 20 September 1962.
- ^ "League of friends to wait - and save". Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser. 16 June 1961.
- ^ Doyle, WJ (1962). Devon's Health in 1962: The annual report of the County Medical Officer and Principal School Medical Officer.
- ^ Williams, E; Eves, LW (1965). Report of the Medical Officer of and the Chief Public Health Inspector for Rural District of South Molton for the year 1965. Rural District of South Molton Public Health Department.
- ^ Williams, E; Rodgers, W (1963). Report of the Medical Officer of Health and the Chief Public Health Inspector for the Borough of Barnstaple for the year 1963. Public Health Department of the Borough of Barnstaple.
- ^ "Doctor protests over mercy dash". Daily Mirror. 20 June 1966.
- ^ "The price of a life". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. 23 June 1966.
- ^ a b "New role likely for Hawkmoor Chest Hospital". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. 12 April 1973.
- ^ "Life and death of Hawkmoor". Herald Express. 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ "Row splits town". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. 16 December 1986.
- ^ a b "S Devon history goes under the hammer". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. 11 September 1987.
- ^ "Labour's Torbay Health tonic". Torbay Express and South Devon Echo. 13 March 1987.
- ^ "Busy road leading onto Dartmoor blocked in both directions - updates". Devon Live. 18 September 2021. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Devon & Dartmoor HER". Heritage Gateway.
- ^ "Trade news". The Builder. 112 (3857): 27. 5 January 1917.
- ^ Headley, Gwyn; Meulenkamp, Wim (1986). Follies: A National Trust Guide. The National Trust. ISBN 0224021052.
- ^ LeMessurier, Brian (1980). Dartmoor: Walks for motorists. Frederick Warne. pp. 40–41. ISBN 9780723221647.
- ^ a b c Hokman, Dave. "Pullabrook Halt". Disused Stations. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ Jenkins, Stanley C (1989). The Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway. The Oakwood Press. pp. 86–87. ISBN 0853613893.
- ^ a b Owen, John (2000). "The Moretonhampstead Branch: a railway from shore to moor".
