Atkinson Morley Hospital was located at Copse Hill near Wimbledon, southwest London, from 1869 until 2003. Initially a convalescent hospital, it became one of the most advanced brain surgery centres in the world, and was involved in the development of the CT scanner. On 1 October 1971 the first CT scanner, designed by Godfrey Hounsfield whose project was financed by EMI Abbey Road Studios, was installed. James Ambrose, the consultant radiologist at Atkinson Morley's hospital, said: " The very first CT scanner was installed here in 1971 and on October 1st we scanned our first patient. This was actually a middle aged female patient with a tumour in the left frontal lobe. We were able to identify cortex, white matter, the ventricular system, and the cystic tumour."1
The hospital was opened in 1869 following a donation of £100,000 by Atkinson Morley, a wealthy hotelier and landowner, to St George's Hospital for receiving, maintaining, and generally assisting convalescent poor patients.
The hospital remained a convalescent home until 1939. During the Second World War, when the Bolingbroke and St. George’s acted as emergency hospitals for war casualties, the Neurosurgery Unit was established at the AMH by the neurosurgeon Sir Wylie McKissock. As the Regional Neurosciences Unit for South West London, the hospital even had its own helicopter landing facility. Next door was the Wolfson Neurorehabilitation Centre.
The hospital remained open until 2003 when neurology services were relocated to a purpose-built wing of the main St George's Hospital site, which had by then moved to Tooting.2
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