Fleming Memorial Hospital

Before 1852, only a few hospitals admitted children despite the fact that disease was common and many children died young; medical provision was through out-patient dispensaries, allowing children to stay with their family. In London alone there were about 50,000 deaths a year in the 1850s and at least 21,000 of these were children. [2]

The first in-patient children’s hospital in the UK was Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children which opened in 1852 with just 10 beds. More children’s hospitals were built to allow the children to receive appropriate care from experienced staff and to train nurses to work with children. The Jenny Lind Hospital, Norwich, opened in 1854 followed by Manchester, Liverpool and Edinburgh then Birmingham in 1861 and Belfast in 1863.

Even at the start of the 1900s children were only allowed a 30 minutes visit once a week, the nurses acknowledged the disruption this caused but some doctors believed that children had short memories and their distress following the visit would pass quickly. It wasn’t until the WWII evacuation of children that the impact of family separation was considered and unrestricted visiting to children in hospital did not begin to be an option until the 1970s. [3]

The Historic Hospital Admission Records Project HHARP provides information, mainly for Great Ormond Street Hospital, including the experience of a child, Annie Kezia Eastland, who was a patient from November 1870 to June 1871.

The industrial revolution created over populated towns and cities with overcrowding in poor housing resulting in outbreaks of infectious diseases. At the same time these towns and cities were home to professional men such as doctors, architects and solicitors who became aware of the need to provide an institution for the relief of poor sick children, as was the case in Sheffield.
This situation also happened in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The Fleming Memorial Hospital Burdon Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne
 

In 1886 a solicitor in Newcastle upon Tyne donated £25,000 to build a hospital for sick children, he was John Fleming and the hospital opened in 1888. [4] According to the 1881 census John was living at 1 Gresham Place, Newcastle, with his wife Mary; they were both born in Scotland. Mary died in 1882 and John built the hospital in her memory. It is not known what his connection to Jesmond was, Gresham Place was on the opposite side of the city and John’s office was in the Union Buildings on Grainger Street, a city centre street of grand Victorian buildings. [5] [6] Perhaps he had a client whose child would have benefited from the services of a children’s hospital, or perhaps one of his own children had been ill, or perhaps it was because the land in Jesmond was available. He was known to be a philanthropist and gave over £100,000 to charities. [7] N.B. Prior to the boundary changes Newcastle was in Northumberland.