Vale of Leven Hospital
Vale of Leven Hospital Main Building in 2004
Henry Brock was one of the directors of the United Turkey Red Company in Alexandria. He left £15,000 to start a cottage hospital in the Vale of Leven. The hospital was called the Henry Brock Vale of Leven Cottage Hospital. It was also called The Henry Brock Memorial Hospital. It opened in 1924 in Broomley House, which had been his home.
After the National Health Service began, health care grew a lot. A larger hospital was needed. The new hospital opened in August 1955 on land given by the Cottage Hospital. It was called The Vale of Leven District General Hospital. The entrance and reception areas were changed many years later. But it was still basically the same building shown in the 2004 photo.
In 1956 the Henry Brock Hospital became the long-stay geriatric unit and the assessment centre for the chronically sick. In 1977 a new geriatric unit was built to the south of the main building. The old house was knocked down in 1978 to make a car park. This car park is at the top of the rise just south-east of the main building.
Work began in 1966 to build a new Maternity Unit. This block was higher than the general hospital. It sat between the main hospital and the Geriatric Unit. The Maternity Unit opened in 1971. It took over work from Braeholm Maternity Hospital in Helensburgh and Overtoun Maternity Hospital (Overtoun House) in Dumbarton.
Over the years, the general hospital was extended. A larger radiography unit was added. There were also changes in NHS management. From 1955 to 1974 the hospital was run by The Western Regional Hospital Board. In 1974 the NHS was reorganised. The Vale hospital then came under the Dumbarton District of the Argyll and Clyde Health Board. Later funding changes formed the Argyll and Clyde Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.
These management changes showed that funding was difficult. The NHS in Scotland is now run by the Scottish Executive. At the time of writing (2004), some services had already moved to The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley. This was part of a controversial centralisation policy that was under review. Because of this, the future of the hospital services and the buildings is uncertain. These buildings had served Dumbarton, the Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and the surrounding areas for many years.