The hospital has its origins in the Union Workhouse built on a site on Bartons Road in 1885.[a] The site cost a little over £9,000 and the buildings were erected in the Queen Anne style.[1] In the 1930s the facility became a Public Assistance Institution and in 1948 it joined the National Health Service as Fordingbridge Infirmary for the Chronic Sick.[1]
After the Fordingbridge Cottage Hospital at Highfield House on Alderholt Road closed, its services were transferred to the Bartons Road site in 1984,[2] and a modern facility, known as Ford Ward, opened on the Bartons Road site, which itself became known as Fordingbridge Hospital.[3]
After failing to maintain staffing levels, the hospital closed to admissions in September 2023.[4]
The hospital provides 20 beds for older people and has physiotherapy and occupational therapy support. A small outpatient department in the older building accommodates a moderate range of specialities including: podiatry, ear, nose and throat services, audiology, speech and language therapy, continence service, dermatology services, stroke clinic services and dietitian services.[3][5]
