ABSTRACT
This article mentions briefly the history of the early General Hospitals of Singapore, and the events leading to the opening of the 1926 General Hospital (the predecessor of the present General Hospital). There is a detailed description of this hospital. During the next four decades there were many changes (alterations and additions) to cater to changing circumstances. The hospital also underwent an upheaval caused by the war with Japan and the Japanese Occupation of Singapore. The Japanese Armed Forces used the General Hospital for their own patients. The British General Hospital with its Maternity Wards were transferred to Kandang Kerbau Hospital which became the main Civil General Hospital for Singaporeans during the Japanese Occupation. There are brief descriptions of these alterations and additions as well as those made after the rehabilitation of the General Hospital after the war. The Obstetric and Gynaecological Service remained at Kandang Kerbau Hospital and did not return to the General Hospital. From 1975, with the commencement of the construction of the present General Hospital, the third to be built in the same locality, the 1926 General Hospital was demolished in stages. Some parts still stand, e.g., the porch of Bowyer Block, and the shell of Mistri Wing (now the National Heart Centre).
As in previous articles on the medical history of Singapore, this one has many quotations from primary sources. The author believes that this makes more interesting reading than a rehash of the results of his research.
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