Ever since it opened its doors in 1856 the Hospital of St John & St Elizabeth has had a reputation for providing the most up-to-date methods of care — a reputation it has maintained to the present day.
Founded by the Sisters of Mercy, an Order of nuns who worked with Florence Nightingale in the Crimean war, the hospital was originally situated next to the church of St John in Great Ormond Street in the centre of London. From the start it pioneered the use of advanced nursing techniques to help the sick, the dying and the needy in the local community.
By 1897 demand for the hospital’s services was so great that it sold its land to the famous Sick Children’s Hospital next door and moved to St John’s Wood, where it was reopened by the Lord Mayor of London in 1901 and where it has remained ever since. St John’s church was dismantled brick-by-brick and rebuilt on the new site.
In 1984, inspired by the same spirit of compassion and innovation on which it was founded, the hospital opened St John’s Hospice, initially with four in-patient beds for people with cancer (it currently has 19 beds). In 1987 it added day care and a pioneering “hospice at home” service to extend its support to people who prefer to spend the later stages of their illness in their own homes.
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