13917: County Hospital, Stornoway

The County Hospital was founded by the Red Cross as the Willowglen Sanatorium (also known as the Red Cross Sanatorium, the Stornoway Sanatorium and the Lewis Sanatorium), during the First World War (circa 1916). It opened in 1920 and was located in Willowglen Road, Stornoway. The Sanatorium was initially intended for the treatment of ex-servicemen sufferering from tuberculosis, but its treatment remit was extended to other males and later to females.

The Red Cross handed the Sanatorium over to the local authority in about 1920, and in 1938 the building was augmented by a wing for the  treatment of infectious diseases (this specialist unit replaced Mossend Fever Hospital which had been based on the outskirts of Stornoway).

Improvements in the treatment of tuberculosis during the 1950s meant that a local dedicated institution was no longer required. The Sanatorium therefore became the County Hospital, treating minor ailments and serving as a convalescent home for veterans. The Hospital latterly became a provider solely of elder care.

The County Hospital, along with the Lewis Hospital on Goathill Road, Stornoway, was closed when the Western Isles Hospital opened in 1992. The County Hospital was subsequently completely demolished; its Willowglen Road site was subsequently occupied by Gleann Seileach Business Park. 

More information on the history of the County Hospital can be found on the Looking Back: Celebrating 70 years of the National Health Service in the Western Isles website of the Western Isles Health Board.