Odstock Hospital
On the 12th December 1942, the US Army 5th General Hospital transferred their hospital structures, together with 361 patients from Northern Ireland to a new location at Odstock, near Salisbury. The buildings at Odstock were of the standard British brick and Nissen hut type. The original plans were for 600 beds, but this was later expanded to a 1,000-bed capacity.
The Odstock Hospital was formally opened on 1st March 1943. Many casualties arrived after the D-Day landings on 6th June 1944. During this brief period the organisation cared for a total of 10,004 patients.
After the war, the site was handed over to local hospital authorities. Following the birth of the National Health Service (NHS) in 1948, the Wessex Plastic Surgery Unit and regional Burns wards were looking for a suitable home. They moved to the Odstock site and opened in 1949.
State-of-the-art theatres were developed in 1966 and in 1984 the Duke of Cornwall Spinal Injuries Unit was opened by HRH Prince of Wales and HRH Princess of Wales.
A big change occurred in 1992-1993 as all hospital services from Salisbury General Infirmary were transferred to the Odstock site. A new three-level building was commissioned and the new hospital became known as Salisbury District Hospital. Since then, the hospital has seen a new building for Burns, Plastic Surgery and patient wards in 2006, a new Sarum Ward and dedicated Children’s Outpatients department in 2012 and most recently a new Eye Clinic created near to the Day Surgery Unit in 2017.
Read more about the early Odstock Hospital
Find out about Odstock’s beginnings as an American Field Hospital
