Club Member Mr Kenneth Collins : The Twelve Hospitals of Omagh
The theme of the talk was the twelve hospitals of Omagh town and went back to 1796 when the first ever County Tyrone Infirmary was built at Main (Market) Street next to Scarffe’s Entry. This was followed with the opening of the Omagh Fever Hospital on the Kevlin Road with Dr John Hamilton MD in charge. The Omagh Gaol had its own hospital built in 1823. The Omagh Union Workhouse opened in 1841 with its Infirmary on site. Fever outbreak in the workhouse brought about the building of the Workhouse Fever Hospital in 1848.
This last hospital was converted into the Omagh General Hospital in 1948. St Lucia Barracks opened in 1886 had its own 26 bed hospital. The Dergmoney House Fever Hospital on the Dublin Road dealt with fevers in the 1940s. Tyrone County Hospital opened in 1899 by the Duchess of Abercorn replaced the old County Infirmary and served the community for 118 years before being replaced by the present Omagh Primary Care Complex housing many in-patient services, GP Practices and Treatment Room.