Open Lecture – Victorian Philanthropy: The Incurables Movement, a Victorian Healthcare Revolution
Speaker Sinead Moriarty, Senior Trust and Research Executive, Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability
The Royal Hospital for Incurables (RHI) (latterly the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability) was the first institution in the UK to specifically offer care for people who had been diagnosed as having ‘incurable’ illnesses or injuries, and was an example of Victorian philanthropy.
Victorian Philanthropy
The founder of the RHI, Dr Andrew Reed, a prominent Victorian philanthropist, established the hospital because he identified a gap in care. People with long-term, chronic or incurable illnesses were being discharged from general hospitals as ‘incurable’ with little or no support available for their ongoing care. The new charity was inundated with applications from people seeking to be admitted.
The Incurables Movement
However the RHI was not alone in attempting to address this gap in healthcare provision. This lecture will examine the Victorian philanthropy and the ‘incurables’ movement, both in the UK and farther afield, and the role played by Dr Reed, and the RHI, within this movement.
This lecture is free, but as places are limited you must register online.
You can download the slides here.