Lorn & Islands District General Hospital

A modern hospital located at Glen Shellach on the southern edge of Oban in Argyll and Bute, Lorn & Islands District General Hospital opened in 1995, centralising health care which had previously been offered through smaller cottage hospitals across the region. Run by NHS Highland, the hospital has 66 in-patient beds and also serves as a day hospital. It was the work of architects Reiach & Hall and comprises two long two-storey white-harled blocks inter-connected to form internal courtyards. There is a service court to the west. The entrance is a steel-framed glass pyramid on a single-storey eastern projection which contains the Accident & Emergency Department. Other services include medical and surgical wards, geriatric services, a stroke unit, a minor injuries unit and a midwife-led maternity unit, together with chemotherapy and x-ray departments. An audiology unit was opened in 2005 by Rhona Brankin, Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care (b.1950). The hospital also offers a palliative day-care service.

Within Oban, the Lorn & Islands District General Hospital replaced five hospitals; namely the County Hospital on Oban Hill, the West Highland Cottage Hospital on Polvinister Road, the Dalinart Hospital, the Oban Maternity Hospital in Gleneuchar House, which opened in 1955, and the Mackelvie Hospital. The County Hospital opened in 1909 as Argyll County Sanatorium and evolved into a General Hospital in the years after World War II. The West Highland Cottage Hospital was founded in 1896. It was designed by architect G. Woulfe Brenan and looked much like a large villa. It was extended in 1911 and 1934-6. The Dalinart Hospital began as the Lorn Combination Poorhouse on Miller Road in 1863. In 1968 this became a day hospital and a new 30-bed unit was built on the site in 1972. These hospitals all closed in 1995. Mackelvie Hospital was opened in 1897 to treat those with infectious diseases. It was extended in 1927 and in-part converted into a nurses' home in 1956. It laterally was focused on palliative care but closed in 2000.


Use the tabs on the right of this page to see other parts of this entry arrow

If you have found this information useful please consider making
a donation to help maintain and improve this resource. More info...

By using our site you agree to accept cookies, which help us serve you better