Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Remember When: Pictures from Parkside Hospital in Middlesbrough


Thousands of Teessiders made their entrance into the world at Middlesbrough Maternity Hospital.


But not all of us know it by its official name.


Instead most Boro-born babes, and their mums, will simply call it Parkside - referring, of course, to its location by the side of the town’s Albert Park.


After 68 years of deliveries, the hospital closed in 1988 and services moved to South Cleveland Hospital, now James Cook.


But as any mums knows, memories of where and when your children arrived stay with you forever.


We’ve taken a delve back into the picture archives of the Gazette for a look at images of the hospital and its buildings that will be so familiar to so many Teesside families.


Plans for the hospital began as far back as 1919 when the Middlesbrough Maternity Child Welfare Committee bought two semi-detached houses in their own grounds on Park Road North.


The maternity home had space for just 19 patients but in 1931, Middlesbrough Council decided to build an extension with space for three more wards, bedrooms for nurses and a doctor’s bedroom too.


Our pictures show some of the staff, mums and children connected to Parkside over the years.


They also show some of the fundraisers who helped provide pieces of equipment at the hospital.


The special care baby unit also transferred to South Cleveland in 1988 after 28 years at Parkside and some of the mums and babies who benefited from its care gathered for a special farewell party to mark the occasion.


The youngest of those babies will be approaching 27 years old this year - were you one of them?



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