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Hospital Records

Discover your ancestors in the records of hospitals, clinics and asylums in Glasgow, Paisley and in other areas of the west of Scotland.

​What do I need to know before I start?

Try to find out:

  • name
  • hospital
  • dates

 

What records can I find in The Mitchell: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Archives and Glasgow City Archives?

 

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde Archives services are currently unavailable while NHS GGC reviews service options.

An update on service availability will be made available as soon as possible.

Please note that University of Glasgow and Glasgow Life staff do not have access to the NHS GGC Archives and are unable to respond to enquiries about NHS GGC Archives.

Hospital records are mainly held in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Archives. The records consist primarily of the records of hospitals, clinics and asylums in Glasgow, Dunbartonshire, Greenock and Paisley. You can access a list of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Archives holdings online.


The records vary but you may find:

  • registers of admissions and discharges
  • registers of birth
  • registers of death
  • ward registers or journals
  • case notes
  • registers of medical staff, including nurses and doctors

If you seek patient records within these periods, or information regarding your own treatment, you should contact the NHS Archivist.

The City Archives holds a number of records relating to lunacy including:

  • records of Glasgow District Lunacy Board, 1888-1944 (ref: D-HEW7) which includes registers of boarded-out mental patients, records of petitions for certification and registers of notified cases
  • lunatic asylum record books, 1943-1962 (ref: D-HEW35)
  • particulars of cases visited in regard to lunacy certificates, 1949-1962 (D-HEW36)
  • records of Renfrew District Luncacy Board, 1858-1948, (ref: CO2/8/1) including minute books and a register of pauper patients in Dykebar Asylum
  • registers of lunatics in Govan Combination Parish, 1877-1930 (D-HEW5/2)

 

These have a 75 year closure on records of adults, and a 100 year closure period on records of minors​.

 

What records can I see online?

There are no records online.

 

What other resources will help me find information?

Websites

You can access summary details of the contents of the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Archives online and more detailed lists on the Archives Hub.

 

In this guide