San Fernando General Hospital

The San Fernando General Hospital is an old institution that has evolved over the years. It was known as the “coolie hospital” because it was built to satisfy the needs of the East Indian indentured laborers during the time of indentureship. At the time the government was given a mandate that a hospital be provided for sugar workers with four beds to every forty indentured labourers working on estates in and in close proximity to the hospital. The original hospital was carved from an 1864 army barracks and by the end of the 19^th century it has expanded to twenty two wards.

After many complaints by the East Indian people the name of the hospital changed to the San Fernando Colonial Hospital and then to San Fernando General Hospital when medical services were upgraded. It was only 1891 that female wards were introduced and there were no emergency transport vehicles. In 1955 several extensions were made to the hospital which consisted of a helipad for emergency landing of helicopters. The San Fernando General Hospital as it stands today is the “lone government institution occupying more land space than any other facility offered by government.” (Daily Express 2011)

The San Fernando General Hospital saw these improvements as the city developed, requiring the services of a hospital. This was an ideal situation for a hospital as it is located to centre of the city thus making it accessible to citizens, and the roads located in the here are of better quality than rural areas. As the years passed more development on the hospital took place. One such development that occurred was the Teaching Hospital next to the San Fernando General Hospital. The image below shows the newly constructed building on the right and the old hospital to the left with a walkway connecting both.