Medical dates:

Medical character:

Building work began in 1939 on a new hospital to replace the nearby Victoria Memorial Cottage Hospital in Epsom Road.  It was almost completed when war broke out.  

The Leatherhead Hospital opened in 1940 and immediately joined the Emergency Medical Service. The low-level buildings contained 45 beds (six of which were for private patients), an operating theatre, an Out-Patients and Casualty Department, and X-ray and Physiotherapy Departments.  It had cost £47,000 to build.

In 1948 the Hospital joined the NHS as a modern GP hospital under the control of the Epsom Group Hospital Management Committee, part of the South West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board.

A new 10-bedded female ward opened on 30th July 1949, named after Mr Leach, a benefactor of of the Hospital.  The Hospital then had 55 beds.

The average bed occupancy was 49 out of 55 (89%), while the average length of stay was 14 days.  The weekly cost of an in-patient was £16 7s 8d (£16.38), while the daily charge for a pay bed was £2 6s 0d (£2.30), some £16.10 a week.

During the 1950s Windfield, a private house, was leased from St John's School to provide accommodation for nurses.

During 1959 the average rate of bed occupancy was 83%.  The weekly cost of an in-patient had risen to £27 6s 6d (£27.33), and the charge for a private room to £4 1s 0d (£4.05) a day (£28.35 a week).

In 1959 Dr C.W. von Bergen died.  He had been one of the founders of the original cottage hospital and a great campaigner for the building of the new one.  A plaque to his memory was unveiled by Lord Beaverbrook on 17th May 1960.

During 1960 the operating theatre, the main kitchen, Gascoigne Ward and the X-ray and Physiotherapy Departments were redecorated.  The main drive was resurfaced.

A League of Friends was formed in 1960 to raise funds to provide amenities and equipment for the patients.

During 1966 the average rate of bed occupancy was 85%.  The average weekly cost of an in-patient had increased to £36 6s 10d (£36.34), while the daily charge for a pay bed was £5 10s 0d (£5.50) - (£38.50 a week).

In 1969 it came under the control of the Epsom and West Park Hospital Management Committee.

In 1974, following a major reorganisation of the NHS, the Hospital came under the auspices of the Mid Surrey District Health Authority, part of the South West Thames Regional Health Authority.

By 1990 it had 53 beds for acute patients, but the operating theatre had closed.

In 1990 the Hospital joined the Epsom and St Helier NHS Trust.

In 2003 the Surrey Primary Care Trust took over responsibility.  Plans were discussed in 2004 about  building a new community hospital with 40 beds, but nothing came of this.

In 2006 the Hospital became the responsibility of the newly formed Central Surrey Health (later renamed CHS Surrey), a not-for-profit community services provider owned by its employees.

Present status (April 2009)

The Hospital continues to be run by CHS Surrey and provides a range of services.  Most patients are elderly, admitted for rehabilitation following stroke, surgery or fracture.

In 2009, when the Hospital had 21 beds, the unisex Leach Ward was refurbished, re-equipped and converted into single sex accommodation with separate bathrooms and WCs.

The Out-Patients Department continues to be busy, with 29 clinics held weekly.