{"id":475918,"date":"2026-04-04T09:33:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T08:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/?p=475918"},"modified":"2026-04-04T09:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T08:34:08","slug":"its-been-300-years-since-guys-hospital-began-caring-for-the-community-in-south-london","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/bermondsey\/its-been-300-years-since-guys-hospital-began-caring-for-the-community-in-south-london\/","title":{"rendered":"It&#8217;s been 300 years since Guy&#8217;s Hospital began caring for the community in South London"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>For the last 300 years Guy\u2019s Hospital has stood at the centre of the community in South London.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each year the doctors and nurses at the hospital welcome thousands of babies into the world and care for many more patients.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"69959\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448384\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">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<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>The hospital\u2019s amazing work today is all thanks to the work of local bookseller and philanthropist Thomas Guy, who gave his name to the hospital in 1725.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Born just down the road on Fair Street in 1644, Thomas Guy ran a bookshop and publishing house in the City of London.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"68153\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448385\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMTQ0Njc0MjAxMCIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWNvbnRlbnQgc291dGgtZW50aXR5LXBsYWNlbWVudCIgc3R5bGU9Im1hcmdpbi1sZWZ0OiBhdXRvO21hcmdpbi1yaWdodDogYXV0bzt0ZXh0LWFsaWduOiBjZW50ZXI7Ij48IS0tICAvMTU0NzI1MDcwLDIyNjk0MTk2OTY5L3NvdXRod2Fya25ld3Mvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cyAtLT4NCjxkaXYgaWQ9ImRpdi1ncHQtYWQtMngxIj4NCjxzY3JpcHQ+DQpnb29nbGV0YWcuY21kLnB1c2goZnVuY3Rpb24oKSB7IGdvb2dsZXRhZy5kaXNwbGF5KCdkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLTJ4MScpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICAgICAgIDwvZGl2Pg==<\/script>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"ZvNXcTgfaizr7UbAHBQ98DuKRxwy1omstpWL4M0hk5lG2FCjJSO3\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"nXZtkUdFeC\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/borough\/guys-hospital-to-mark-300th-birthday-with-week-of-celebrations\/\">Guy&#8217;s Hospital to mark 300th birthday with week of celebrations<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Guy&#8217;s Hospital to mark 300th birthday with week of celebrations&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/borough\/guys-hospital-to-mark-300th-birthday-with-week-of-celebrations\/embed\/#?secret=3ri3LHIvhi#?secret=nXZtkUdFeC\" data-secret=\"nXZtkUdFeC\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Controversially, the man who would go on to found the hospital we know today as Guy\u2019s made his riches profiting off the British Empire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thomas Guy bought up government debt issued to sailors which he swapped for shares in the South Sea Company, a British joint-stock company involved in transporting tens of thousands of enslaved Africans to colonies in the Americas between 1710 and 1720.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71156\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448386\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtNDUxNTY2MjIwIiBjbGFzcz0ic291dGgtaW4tYXJ0aWNsZS1tcHU5IHNvdXRoLWVudGl0eS1wbGFjZW1lbnQiPjwhLS0gIC8xNTQ3MjUwNzAsMjI2OTQxOTY5Njkvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cy9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzIC0tPg0KPGRpdiBpZD0iZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHU5Ij4NCjxzY3JpcHQ+DQpnb29nbGV0YWcuY21kLnB1c2goZnVuY3Rpb24oKSB7IGdvb2dsZXRhZy5kaXNwbGF5KCdkaXYtZ3B0LWFkLW1wdTknKTsgfSk7DQo8L3NjcmlwdD4NCjwvZGl2PiAgICAgPC9kaXY+<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>Tody we rightly condemn those who profited off the slave trade throughout history and now a panel next to his statue outside the hospital addresses the source of Guy\u2019s wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"734\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.11.24-734x560.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-475919\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.310006054805758;width:641px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.11.24-734x560.png 734w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.11.24-367x280.png 367w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.11.24-768x586.png 768w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.11.24-191x146.png 191w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.11.24-750x573.png 750w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.11.24.png 1048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 734px) 100vw, 734px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Harold Ackroyd, a recipient of the Victoria Cross who died in the First World War. He trained as a doctor at Guy&#8217;s Hospital in 1904.&nbsp; Credit &#8211; Guy&#8217;s Hospital<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Guy was a governor at St Thomas\u2019s Hospital from 1704. At the time it was one of just two hospitals in London, along with St Bartholomew\u2019s in the City of London, which had survived Henry VIII\u2019s dissolution of the monasteries in 1536. The 18th century was a different era of medical care; since treatment had to be paid for, most people stayed at home and were cared for by hired nurses or family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nursing wasn\u2019t the specialist profession that it is today; in fact Florence Nightingale, regarded as the founder of modern nursing, rather disdainfully claimed at the time that it was left to \u2018those who were too old, too weak, too drunken, too dirty, too stupid or too bad to do anything else\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the 1720s St Thomas\u2019s Hospital wouldn\u2019t treat patients with long-term or incurable conditions, or those who were mentally ill.<\/p><script type=\"text\/plain\" data-tcf=\"waiting-for-consent\" data-id=\"71157\" data-bid=\"1\" data-placement=\"448387\" data-no-track=\"impressions\">PGRpdiBpZD0ic291dGgtMTk2MDc4MDM2NCIgY2xhc3M9InNvdXRoLWluLWFydGljbGUtbXB1LTEwIHNvdXRoLWVudGl0eS1wbGFjZW1lbnQiPjwhLS0gIC8xNTQ3MjUwNzAsMjI2OTQxOTY5Njkvc291dGh3YXJrbmV3cy9zb3V0aHdhcmtuZXdzIC0tPg0KPGRpdiBpZD0iZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCI+DQo8c2NyaXB0Pg0KZ29vZ2xldGFnLmNtZC5wdXNoKGZ1bmN0aW9uKCkgeyBnb29nbGV0YWcuZGlzcGxheSgnZGl2LWdwdC1hZC1tcHUxMCcpOyB9KTsNCjwvc2NyaXB0Pg0KPC9kaXY+ICAgICA8L2Rpdj4=<\/script>\n\n\n\n<p>After a concerned physician pointed this out to Guy, the philanthropist got to work establishing a new hospital which would cater to those patients who weren\u2019t admitted by St Thomas\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"536\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.42-536x560.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-475922\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.9567368439785731;width:605px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.42-536x560.png 536w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.42-268x280.png 268w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.42-768x803.png 768w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.42-140x146.png 140w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.42-750x784.png 750w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.42.png 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 536px) 100vw, 536px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Princess Omo-Oba Adenrele Ademola from Nigeria cared for patients at Guy&#8217;s Hospital on St Saviour&#8217;s ward in 1939. &#8216;Nurse Ademola&#8217; enjoys half an hours leisure in the comfortable rest room of the nurses&#8217; home attached to Guy&#8217;s Hospital.&nbsp; Credit &#8211; Imperial War Museum<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Guy successfully arranged to lease land next to St. Thomas\u2019s &#8211; which back then stood where Guy\u2019s Hospital is today &#8211; on the south side of St Thomas\u2019s Street for a new ward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It opened its doors in 1725 with a stated mission to care for \u201cthe indigent and the wretched who should be discharged from other hospitals as incurable\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sadly Guy himself never lived to see the moment for himself &#8211; he died just a week earlier at the age of 80. In his will he asked for the hospital\u2019s scope to be widened so it could care for \u201cfour hundred poor persons, or upwards, labouring under any distemper, infirmity or disorders thought capable of relief by physic or surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today Guy\u2019s has 400 beds and several buildings &#8211; but to start with just sixty patients were admitted. Those early patients were expected to abide by a strict disciplinary regime and had to help clean the wards and fetch coals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those who disobeyed faced a range of punishments. To be caught swearing would mean no meals the following day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blocking the toilets was by contrast a far more serious offence and resulted in immediate discharge from the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It wasn\u2019t just the disciplinary regime which we can scarcely recognise today; in the 1700s the wards were often filthy and crawling with vermin, while the hospital beds with their wooden canopies were magnets for bedbugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"j73GUquYowXFdGxeAXaeN95t7ubkUH4l1anS3vxRfCChtVycssBgm8P6wSgcZQ5\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"0iEJoARORw\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/history\/history-plus\/from-the-west-end-to-camberwell-a-history-of-kings-college-hospital\/\">From the West End to Camberwell: a history of King&#8217;s College Hospital<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;From the West End to Camberwell: a history of King&#8217;s College Hospital&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/history\/history-plus\/from-the-west-end-to-camberwell-a-history-of-kings-college-hospital\/embed\/#?secret=497iSLFQxV#?secret=0iEJoARORw\" data-secret=\"0iEJoARORw\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Matters got so dire that in 1735 the hospital paid \u00a320 &#8211; the equivalent of \u00a32,200 in today\u2019s money &#8211; to get rid of the pests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the 18th century the hospital leased more and more land from St Thomas\u2019s as it sought to expand into new wings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The process continued into the nineteenth century with the 1806 purchase of the Maze Pond Estate to the south of the hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"339\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.17-339x560.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-475920\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.605374033873713;width:637px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.17-339x560.png 339w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.17-169x280.png 169w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.17-88x146.png 88w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.17.png 658w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 339px) 100vw, 339px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The brand new Guy&#8217;s Cancer Centre in the foreground on the right hand side.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Throughout the 18th century and early 19th Guy\u2019s and St Thomas\u2019s happy co-existed as two separate neighbouring hospitals; but in 1847 they were forced apart by plans to extend the railway from London Bridge to Cannon Street and Charing Cross, the path running directly across St Thomas\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>St Thomas\u2019s had to be moved down to Walworth, where it was temporarily based out of buildings which once formed part of the Royal Surrey Zoological Gardens, before moving to its new home in Lambeth on the banks of the Thames in 1871 &#8211; where it still stands today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The physical division unleashed a period of competitive rivalry between the two hospitals, particularly on the rugby pitch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Second World War was a dark chapter for Guy\u2019s, as the hospital was badly bombed, unleashing a wave of building activity in the second half of the 20th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Between 1959 and 1963 an eleven-storey surgical block was built. Soon after in 1976 the iconic 34-storey Guy\u2019s Tower was built opposite London Bridge Station, at one point the tallest hospital building in the world until it was surpassed by the O\u2019Quinn Medical Tower in Houston in 1990 (both were dwarfed by the Hong Kong Sanitorium and Hospital in 2008.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Guy\u2019s might have changed unrecognisably over the years &#8211; but what hasn\u2019t changed is the hospital\u2019s reputation for pioneering research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The hospital is famed for its research into kidney disease &#8211; a reputation which stretches back more than 200 years to the time of Richard Bright, an early pioneer in the field who is regarded as the founder of modern kidney treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"420\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.31-420x560.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-475921\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.7504761047880396;width:675px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.31-420x560.png 420w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.31-210x280.png 210w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.31-768x1023.png 768w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.31-110x146.png 110w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.31-750x999.png 750w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.12.31.png 782w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 420px) 100vw, 420px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The entrance to Guy&#8217;s Hospital<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The first successful kidney transplant took place at Guy\u2019s around 150 years later in 1967 &#8211; today the Department of Renal and Transplant at the hospital is one of the largest in the UK and cares for patients across south-east London, Kent and even the Channel Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Likewise the hospital leads the way in the UK when it comes to cancer care, consolidated in 2016 with the opening of the new Guy\u2019s Cancer Centre, home to the latest facilities, top specialists and pioneering treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Guy\u2019s and St Thomas\u2019s returned to their tradition of working collaboratively together after the Second World War. In 1982 the Guy\u2019s Medical School merged with St Thomas\u2019 Medical School, forming the Medical and Dental Schools of Guy\u2019s and St Thomas\u2019 Hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"CzrNc0qKoQq2J6TzusmYahKnT1SgCjWLAI19dhUFeb4Z5lZFtODfplYotXdx38ik03yEnpR5MP8bfwv7kDHA\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"R6PtKCH3km\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/bermondsey\/three-new-buildings-will-be-constructed-at-snowsfields-in-bermondsey-for-a-350million-life-sciences-hub-by-guys-hospital\/\">Three new buildings will be constructed at Snowsfields in Bermondsey for a \u00a3350million life sciences hub by Guy&#8217;s Hospital<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Three new buildings will be constructed at Snowsfields in Bermondsey for a \u00a3350million life sciences hub by Guy&#8217;s Hospital&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/area\/bermondsey\/three-new-buildings-will-be-constructed-at-snowsfields-in-bermondsey-for-a-350million-life-sciences-hub-by-guys-hospital\/embed\/#?secret=RHzNxl9Zen#?secret=R6PtKCH3km\" data-secret=\"R6PtKCH3km\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In 1991 the Guy\u2019s and St Thomas\u2019 NHS Trust was formed, with the two hospitals working together to plan the health services all over south east London.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"556\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.13.03-1000x556.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-475923\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.798918918918919;width:658px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.13.03-1000x556.png 1000w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.13.03-500x278.png 500w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.13.03-768x427.png 768w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.13.03-260x146.png 260w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.13.03-750x417.png 750w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.13.03-1140x634.png 1140w, https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-01-at-17.13.03.png 1288w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sir Simon Hughes, the Liberal MP for Bermondsey, which includes Guy\u2019s, from 1983 to 2015 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Sir Simon Hughes, the Liberal MP for Bermondsey, which includes Guy\u2019s, between 1983 and 2015 said representing the hospital in Parliament for 32 years was a \u201cprivilege\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He paid tribute to the \u201cmost skilled and often lovely consultants, doctors, nurses, chaplains, and people in a hundred other professions and jobs \u2013 the care, the love, the expertise \u2013 and above all the loyalty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sir Simon also recalled the \u2018Save Guy\u2019s Campaign\u2019 in 1994, when more than a million people signed a petition opposing the government\u2019s proposals to shut the emergency ward at Guy\u2019s Hospital. The ward eventually closed in 1998.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He said Guy\u2019s was a place he \u201cvisited frequently, including on&nbsp;Christmas Day in 31 of my 32 years as MP, to welcome into the world tiny new babies in incubators and bigger babies in cots, to be with families alongside their loved ones in their health crises, struggles, convalescence and end of life hours, and to see the dedication of all the staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-southwark-news wp-block-embed-southwark-news\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"OPFNfkqY7JojrnpSeaVTuIwHbRyWXExDv9tg18UM4C5ZhGi3dK\"><blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"XqLq8eKKvz\"><a href=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/history\/history-plus\/a-wintry-walking-tour-through-bermondseys-guy-street-park-and-leathermarket-gardens\/\">A wintry walking tour through Bermondsey&#8217;s Guy Street Park and Leathermarket Gardens<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;A wintry walking tour through Bermondsey&#8217;s Guy Street Park and Leathermarket Gardens&#8221; &#8212; Southwark News\" src=\"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/history\/history-plus\/a-wintry-walking-tour-through-bermondseys-guy-street-park-and-leathermarket-gardens\/embed\/#?secret=j0z4eJ542B#?secret=XqLq8eKKvz\" data-secret=\"XqLq8eKKvz\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the last 300 years Guy\u2019s Hospital has stood at the centre of the community in South London.&nbsp; Each year the doctors and nurses at the hospital welcome thousands of babies into the world and care for many more patients. The hospital\u2019s amazing work today is all thanks to the work of local bookseller and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19207,"featured_media":475924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_share_counter":"1","show_view_counter":"1","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","show_comment_section":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"1","show_inline_post_related":"1"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":"And here is a brief history "},"jnews_primary_category":{"id":"65"},"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,187,7375,13539,13618,13602,9635],"tags":[702,223],"class_list":["post-475918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bermondsey","category-borough","category-community","category-featured","category-history","category-news","category-south-london","tag-guys-and-st-thomas","tag-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475918"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":476235,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475918\/revisions\/476235"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/southwarknews.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}