The Royal National Hospital for Consumption (Newcastle Sanatorium) was established in 1893 by public subscription. It was one of the first hospitals in Ireland devoted to the treatment of what was then one of the most prevalent diseases in the country. The records donated to archive include administrative and patient records covering the whole period of the hospitals existence from 1893 to its closure in 1963. The papers complement many of the collections already held in the College’s archive including the papers of the National Association for the Prevention of Tuberculosis and the papers of Saint Ultan’s Hospital. Saint Ultan’s was the first hospital in the British Isles to make use of the BCG Vaccination and was the home of the National BCG Committee.  The new collection will be catalogued as part of the ongoing Wellcome Trust Funded cataloguing project, and made available on the new online archive catalogue - http://www.rcpi.ie:8080/calmview/

The College’s Heritage Centre is committed to the collection and preservation of archives, artefacts and library material relating to the history of medicine and medical education in Ireland. To find out more about the Heritage Centre visit the Heritage Centre website or blog.

To find out more about the Newcastle Sanatorium Papers or any of our other collections please contact the archivists, Harriet Wheelock; harrietwheelock@rcpi.ie or on +353 (0)1 6698817.