Ruth Lancaster James Cottage Hospital, Alston

Image: © Andrew Curtis Taken: 28 Dec 2014

See another photo from this location taken in 2008 Image The original concept of a cottage hospital was a small rural building having several beds. The advantages of such a hospital in villages were the provision of care which avoided long journeys to county or voluntary hospitals, facilities to deal more immediately with emergencies and familiarity the local physician might have with their patients that may affect their treatment. This local knowledge of the patient would probably have been lost had they been referred to their nearest county hospital, as was typical for poorer patients. Some of these buildings continued to be known as cottage hospitals until recent times. The term community hospital is now applied to most of these buildings where they are used to deliver healthcare, reflecting the wider range of services that are provided in more modern times. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottage_hospital The building above on the left is the former St. Paul's Methodist Church built in 1863. It is located at the top of Front Street and was sold along with the neighbouring church hall (also known as the schoolroom) and the Osborne House in 2002 for conversion into domestic accommodation Image http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk/news/2.2962/who-was-lady-of-the-chapel-1.643080

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