Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity Christmas Cards

On the 14th February 1852, Dr Charles West founded the first children’s hospital in the UK, which was later called Great Ormond Street Hospital. When it first opened, the hospital had just ten beds. During this time it was generally accepted that children were better off at home with their mothers, even when seriously ill, so having a hospital especially for children was unheard of.

Nowadays, the staff of the hospital work tirelessly to ensure proper care for the children admitted there, and fight to provide new treatments for childhood illnesses. Throughout the last 160 years, GOSH has had breakthroughs in research into paediatric medicine including heart valve replacements and gene therapy.