University College Hospital

University College Hospital stands in the Bloomsbury area of Camden, a teaching hospital closely linked with University College London. It sits on the south side of Euston Road with its tower facing Euston Square tube station. Warren Street station lies immediately to the west and Euston terminus is just beyond 200 metres east. The hospital was founded in 1834 as the North London Hospital to provide clinical training for medical students. The hospital has played a key role in medical history. Robert Liston performed the first major operation under ether in Europe there in 1846. George Orwell died in room 65 of the hospital in 1950. The new hospital opened in 2005 and includes a 75,822 square metre building with a large polished Brazilian granite sculpture outside. The Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Wing opened in 2008 to centralise women’s health services. Visitors find a major teaching hospital with 665 beds and 12 operating theatres. The Accident and Emergency department treats around 120,000 patients each year. The hospital houses the largest single critical care unit in the NHS and is a leading centre for medical research. The Cruciform Building on Gower Street, designed by Alfred Waterhouse, now serves UCL’s biomedical research and teaching facilities.