History of healthcare in Stranraer...

(Illustrations by Alice Griffin)

1840s - 1940s

1849 - Infectious Diseases Hospital in reaction to Cholera.
1880-1894 - Larger ID hospital built,
1892 - Mountford / Stranraer & District Cottage Hospital - birthplace of local hospital and health services. X2 2-bed wards and a single private room.
1897 - A superior hospital replaced this with a larger unit - The Garrick Cottage Hospital (1898-1992).
1907 - Clenoch Infectious Diseases hospital built. Smaller isolation units were added and used until 1946.
1920s - Nurses’ residence acquired for Garrick Hospital.
1935 - Garrick Hospital was extended with a new ward, X-ray and maternity suite.
1947 - The town's first maternity hospital was built (lasting until 1976).

Named after the former Provost of Stranraer, George Garrick - a Dentist by profession, but associated with his uncle in a jewellery business, later becoming the sole proprietor. He left a £1,200 legacy for the purpose of building and buying premises for the Cottage Hospital. After his death in 1896, his widow Mrs Jessie Garrick briefly became a hospital committee member before her own passing in 1900.

The hospital had attractive gardens which were tended first by Reformatory inmates before being looked after by committee members and staff.

Until health was nationalised in 1948, surgery was done under a 'voluntary system' with wealthier patients paying for surgeons' fees - poorer people were at the mercy of a surgeon's goodwill to operate for free.​

During the 1920s, Garrick Hospital still didn't have its own X-ray machine, so patients had to be stretchered to Dr Harper's surgery in Hanover Street to be X-rayed. By 1944 an X-ray unit had been installed AND extended to support an influx of people into the community.

The concept of integrated health care in Stranraer was innovative – in 1948 the Minster of Health said:

‘the idea was then quite novel – even heretical: we were told it was idealistic nonsense, pure fancy, quite impractical’

1950s - 1990s

1950 - Stranraer Laboratory first established in a brick shelter constructed as a gas decontamination centre during the war and developed over subsequent decades.
1955 - Health centre built (by Garrick) - the second ever health centre in Scotland!
1960s - 20 beds and a new kitchen were added to Garrick Hospital.
1974 - West Galloway Accident Service established in response to an increase in serious road traffic accidents.
1976 - Dalrymple Hospital constructed, containing a maternity ward and a geriatric wing. 
(therefore ending the need for original maternity hospital)
1983 - A laboratory for Biochemistry and Haematology built in the Garrick site.

​Once the Garrick Hospital had proved its value to the community, donations supported its further development and financial stability. This included takings from concerts and football matches, and whip-rounds at gatherings and workplaces including grateful crews of steamboats.

Christmas as the Garrick was a happy time – a sumptuous meal was prepared in the kitchen then carried through to the festive atmosphere of the out-patient waiting room which doubled as a ‘banqueting hall’. An obliging doctor would take his turn at carving the turkey irrespective of surgical qualifications!

2000s - Present

2002 - The Waverley Health Centre was built.
2006 - The current Galloway Community Hospital was opened. 
Present - Galloway Community Hospital (GCH) continues to provide essential acute and specialist services to the local population, working in close partnership with Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary (DGRI). This collaboration ensures high-quality, coordinated care across the region, allowing patients to access a wide range of healthcare services locally while benefiting from the expertise and resources of the broader health system when needed. GCH plays a crucial role in minimising the need for patients to travel long distances for treatment, offering accessible care within the community. Its strong connection with DGRI ensures continuity of services, supports timely referrals, and enhances patient outcomes through shared clinical pathways and professional support. Together, both hospitals meet the evolving health needs of the local population.