| Glen o' Dee Hospital | |
| Org/Group: | NHS Grampian |
| Location: | Banchory |
| Region: | Aberdeenshire |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Healthcare: | NHS |
| Type: | Community |
| Speciality: | Community hospital |
| Emergency: | No |
| Founded: | 1900 |
| Website: | NHS Grampian - Glen o' Dee Hospital - Banchory |
| Map Type: | Scotland Aberdeenshire |
| Coordinates: | 57.0611°N -2.5197°W |
Glen o' Dee Hospital is situated in the west end of Banchory, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is a small community hospital that provides services for the population of Royal Deeside supported by local GPs. It is managed by NHS Grampian.
The original building was commissioned as a sanctuary for tuberculosis patients[1] and opened as Nordrach on Dee Hospital[2] in 1900.[3]
When tuberculosis died down it served as a luxury hotel (when it became "Glen o' Dee"), but was taken over during the Second World War to serve as a billet for troops.[4] In 1955 it became a convalescent hospital.[5] It reprised its role in contagious diseases when a typhoid epidemic hit nearby Aberdeen in the 1960s, but its last use was as a residential home for the elderly before it closed in 1998.[4]
The original building was featured on the BBC's Restoration programme and, although local people compaigned to have it restored, it continued to sit empty and deteriorating.[6] The building was badly damaged by fire on 14 October 2016 with police treating the incident as wilful fire-raising.[4]
On 14 November 1989 it became a Category A listed building; on 25 November 2016 it was delisted.[7]
A small modern community hospital staffed by GPs now operates on the site.[8] A befriending service was established at the community hospital in 2013 matching older patients ready to be discharged, but lacking confidence to return home, with a volunteer befriender. The volunteers then visit the older patients regularly in hospital and at home after discharge, offering on-going emotional and practical support. Local GPs reported the service had improved the overall health and wellbeing of their patients and reduced the number of medically unnecessary GP visits.[9]
Robert Young Keers FRSE was Superintendent of the facility from around 1950 to 1957.[10]