Victoria Hospital (Kirkcaldy)

Victoria Hospital is a large hospital situated to the north of the town centre in Kirkcaldy, in Fife, Scotland. As one of two main hospitals in Fife, this serves both the town and surrounding Mid-Fife area. The Victoria is run by NHS Fife.The hospital consists of three wings: East, West and South and a main tower block. An adjacent Maggie's Centre is also located within the grounds. In 2012 a new wing opened, which includes a new accident and emergency department; maternity unit and eleven new operating theatres. It serves as a teaching hospital to students from the University of St Andrews School of Medicine, the University of Edinburgh Medical School and the University of Dundee Medical School.HistoryAfter the Second World War, there was demand for a more centralised and bigger hospital to be built in the town to be able to deal with the strains caused by a burgeoning population. This was going to replace the cottage hospital situated to the east of the town which had served as the main hospital in the town since 1890. The original site for the new hospital had been planned for the cottage hospital, but a lack of space for the expansion proved fertile to these plans. A site was eventually chosen around the sanatorium and fever hospital which was completed around 1899 and 1910. Construction of the new hospital began in 1955 and was completed in 1967 giving the entire complex a new name - Victoria.