Hospital

The "Green Moon" - a universal symbol for hospitals - in the admissions department of New New York Hospital. (DW: New Earth)

Hospitals were places of work in which employees (including doctors, nurses and administrative staff) sought to heal temporary residents, damaged organic life called "patients". These institutions varied greatly in character. Some were small and make-shift - as on battlefields during time of war. Others were imposing, solid buildings with long histories of general care. Not a few specialized in particular kinds of medical care, like mental health. Still others gave themselves over to medical research, in which those admitted were more "subject" than "patient".

Perhaps because of the Doctor's outlook on life - not to mention his very name - many of the more important events in his life took place in hospitals. It was not uncommon for his own regeneration, injury to his companion or the presence of alien menace to land him in a hospital. Similarly, the Torchwood 3 team - and, to a lesser extent, Sarah Jane Smith and Mr Smith - monitored the pattern of hospital admissions for any sign of threat to Earth.

The Doctor

As regenerative patient

While the Doctor's TARDIS was the more usual location for regeneration, he sometimes found himself in a human hospital during or immediately after the event. His third incarnation was the first to recover in hospital. Weakened from Time Lord-enforced change, the Doctor was taken from just outside his TARDIS to the Ashbridge Cottage Hospital in Essex. There, under the care of Dr. Henderson, his binary vascular system and unusual brain activity were first documented by humans. (DW: Spearhead from Space) Later, when he had just regenerated into his fourth self, he spent time in the field hospital at UNIT HQ near London. There, Dr. Harry Sullivan again noted the presence of two hearts and ineffectually tried to get the Doctor to rest in bed. (DW: Robot)

The Doctor's last sight before one of his regenerations was of Dr. Grace Holloway. (DW: Doctor Who)

However, the regeneration in which a hospital played the most significant role was that resulting in the Doctor's eighth life. It is likely, in fact, that the surgical staff of Walker General Hospital in San Francisco, led by Dr. Grace Holloway actually killed the Seventh Doctor on the operating table. Dismissing X-rays which clearly showed the presence of two hearts, and misreading the Doctor's rapid pulse for symptoms of cardiac arrest, emergency room attendant, Dr. Salinger, called for emergency cardiac surgery. Dr. Holloway then ordered anasthesia and an invasive procedure which, though undoubtedly sound procedure for a human patient, proved fatal for that incarnation of the Doctor. His body was taken to the hospital's morgue, where he regenerated. Suffering post-regenerative trauma, the new Doctor imprinted on Dr. Holloway, the last person he saw as his former self, and the pair subsequently thwarted the plans of the Master to take over the Doctor's remaining lives. (DW: Doctor Who)

On three occasions, the newly regenerated Doctor has taken clothes from a hospital and continued to wear them after leaving. (DW: Spearhead from Space, Doctor Who, The Eleventh Hour)

As non-regenerative patient

On occasion, the Doctor sought medical care outside the scope of a regenerative crisis. Consequent to an explosion in a quarry, the Doctor came under the care of an intern at an unknown English hospital for an injury to his forearm. After shrugging off his own injuries, he used Dr. Carter's pathology laboratory to determine that Sarah Jane's more serious injuries were due to a threat from a silicon-based entity known as Eldrad. (DW: The Hand of Fear) Later, in the year 5000, the Fourth Doctor sought the specialized help of Dr. Marius at the Bi-Al Foundation to rid himself of infection by The Swarm. The innovative procedure required the Doctor and Leela to shrink to microcopic size and be injected into his own body, in order to precisely target the threat to his blood stream. (DW: The Invisible Enemy)

The Doctor also once faked vague symptoms so he could be admitted to Royal Hope Hospital to better investigate H2O scoops he noticed on the hospital grounds. There, he was examined by medical student Martha Jones, who subsequently assisted the Doctor in returning the hospital to London, after it had been teleported to the Moon. (DW: Smith and Jones)

Opinions about hospitals

The Doctor sometimes expressed strong views about hospitals. In particular, the Eighth Doctor noted an aversion to hospitals, arising from his regeneration in Walker General Hospital in San Francisco. (EDA: Legacy of the Daleks, Kursaal) The Tenth Doctor confirmed this displeasure with hospitals, saying that "they give me the creeps". However, he had an affinity for their little gift shops, as they clearly indicated where the hospital exit was. (DW: New Earth, Smith and Jones, Silence in the Library)

Onboard the TARDIS

The Doctor's TARDIS had a medical bay of its own that was at least sufficient to healing minor injuries. (DW: Cold Blood) It, or another medical treatment area onboard, may have been as big as an entire hospital ward. (NA: Sanctuary) On at least one occasion the Doctor was seen to recuperate on what was a kind of medical table. (DW: Planet of the Daleks) Clearly, too, the Zero Room had restorative powers and helped heal the newly-regenerated Doctor's synapses. (DW: Castrovalva)

Companions

As part of staff

A few of the Doctor's companions were employed by hospitals prior to their involvement with the Doctor. Dr. Grace Holloway was a cardiologist as Walker General Hospital. (DW: Doctor Who) Hex was an emergency room nurse at St. Gart's Hospital in London. (BFA: The Gathering) Martha Jones was a student doctor at Royal Hope Hospital in London prior to meeting the Doctor. (DW: Smith and Jones) Rory Williams worked as a nurse in Royal Leadworth Hospital, (DW: The Eleventh Hour) though he may have been working, or at least hoping, to have become a doctor there. (DW: Amy's Choice)

Temporary members of staff

On occasion the Doctor's companions have either temporarily lent their skills to a hospital, or simply pretended to be a member of staff. For instance, Ace pretended to be a part of the human resources department of St Gart's when investigating a Cyber threat there. (BFA: The Gathering) Later, she, Hex and the Doctor worked alongside Florence Nightingale in a field hospital during the Crimean War. (BFA: The Angel of Scutari)

As patient

The Doctor's companions often found themselves in hospitals, medical bays or research facilities, though not always by their own choice.

When admitted as genuine patient or subject

Jamie McCrimmon was struck ill on the Moonbase, and forced to seek medical treatment in its sickbay. (DW: The Moonbase)

As discussed earlier, Sarah Jane Smith and the Doctor once went to an un-named English hospital after being injured in a quarry explosion. (DW: The Hand of Fear)

The Doctor had to admit both Izzy Sinclair and Destrii to specialized medical facilities. After swapping bodies with Destrii, (DWM: Ophidius) Izzy was taken to the Argus, a marine research vessel, to seek out the medical advice of marine biologist, Dr. Alison Lavelle. (DWM: Children of the Revolution) Later, after the two companions had returned to their rightful bodies, the Doctor took an injured Destrii to Hippocrates Base, a space-based facility that cared for a wide variety of species. (DWM: Sins of the Fathers)

Adam Mitchell once underwent a surgical procedure to implant a microchip into his head on Floor 16 of Satellite 5. While there, he learned that the satellite had emergency facilities on other floors. (DW: The Long Game)

According to a soldier the Doctor met in 1914, Jack Harkness spent time in a hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head during combat in World War I. The Doctor failed to explore exactly why Jack would have faked the need for a hospital. (IDW: The Forgotten)

Jackie Tyler ended up in hospital when she was mugged by an assailant who was attempting to steal her winning ticket for a "holiday" which would have turned her into a combatant in an alien war. Her stint in hospital ironically saved her life, as the mugger ended up being killed in the war in which she would have otherwise unwittingly participated. (NSA: Winner Takes All)

Treated against their will

Polly nearly becomes a Fish Person. (DW: The Underwater Menace)

Polly was once nearly given an operation in a medical facility in Atlantis which would have converted her into a Fish Person. (DW: The Underwater Menace)

Amy Pond, Mo Northover and Elliot Northover underwent medical examination at the hands of a Homo Reptilian doctor. The elder Northover was dissected, as Amy nearly was, but in such a way as to do him no long-term harm. (DW: The Hungry Earth, Cold Blood)

As main settings for adventures

Occasionally a hospital was a main location for an adventure.

Sometimes the adventures were small and personal, having directly to do with a patient there. On Christmas Eve 2006, an older version of the Tenth Doctor returned to London on the day his newly-regenerated self was battling the Sycorax above the city. This time, however, he visited a young patient at St. Nicholas's Hospital, Daniel Francis Thompson, and helped him awaken from his coma. (The Sunday Times: "Deep and Dreamless Sleep")

On other occasions, the safety of an entire planet depended upon what happened at the medical facility. This was plainly exemplified by the Doctor's rescue of New Humans from medical slavery by the Catkind in the New New York Hospital on New Earth. (DW: New Earth) Likewise, the Doctor's involvement with the Albion Hospital in 1941 would prove critical to the original planet Earth. There, he met Dr. Constantine, who helped him uncover the global threat posed by the nanogenes from the Chula ambulance. (DW: The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances)

As place of interest to investigations

In the course of their investigations into what frequently turned out to be alien phenomena, the Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Torchwood often had to rely on clues at hospitals or other treatment facilities.

The Doctor

At various times, the Doctor used hospitals as a starting point for investigating larger mysteries. Wenley Hospital was one such location, at which he questioned Spencer about the nature of the illness that had befallen him. At the same facility, the Doctor also questioned Doris Squire and confirmed that attacks in Wenley Moor were the result of a Silurian incursion. (DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians)

Torchwood Three

Hospitals were a particularly rich vein of clues in tracking down unusual Rift activity and alien incursions.

Jack Harkness met Owen Harper, in an unnamed London hospital, because an alien had infiltrated Owen's fiancé's body. When she died, Jack Harkness recruited Owen to work at Torchwood Three in an operating theatre there. (TW: Fragments)

Immediately prior to joining Torchwood 3, Gwen Cooper once chased Jack through a hospital that was being terrorized by a Weevil. In a part of the hospital that had been cleared of all personnel, she watched as Jack rendered the Weevil helpless with a mysterious spray. Following Jack out of the hospital, she watched as an unmarked SUV whisked Jack away. (TW: Everything Changes)

Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato once investigated a quarantined hospital in Cardiff which had mysteriously become overwhelmed by bubonic plague, introduced by an alpha patient who had come through the Cardiff Space-Time Rift from the 14th century. (TW: End of Days)

Owen later sedated a Hoix with a packet of cigarettes in an unnamed Welsh hospital. (TW: Exit Wounds)

On another occasion, Owen and Jack investigated a rise in the number of patients in Cardiff hospitals suffering from Weevil injuries. Upon visiting one local hospital, they encountered Will Harris, a patient who nearly had his heart ripped out by a Weevil. This information helped lead the Torchwood team to the Weevil Fight Club. (TW: Combat)

While on temporary assignment to Torchwood, Dr. Martha Jones was admitted as a subject to The Pharm, a medical research laboratory. There, she helped piece together the dark secret behind the facility's miraculous Reset drug. Later, after the Torchwood team descended upon the facility, Owen Harper was killed there by Dr. Aaron Copley. (TW: Reset)

Later, the Torchwood team noticed that Cardiff hospitals were flooded with patients suffering from coma-like trances, triggered by phone calls. (TWA: The Dead Line)

After the death of Owen and Toshiko, Jack and Ianto followed a corpse to a local Cardiff hospital with the hopes of removing an alien parasite within. They succeeded, but attracted the attention of the attending physician, Dr. Rupesh Patanjali. For a brief time, he was considered by the team as a replacement for Owen, but when Jack returned to the hospital, Patanjali shot him on the orders of Agent Johnson. Meanwhile, Gwen went to the English Digby York Hospital in East Grinstead, in order to investigate why one of its residents, Clement MacDonald, was apparently under the influence of the 456. (TW: Children of Earth: Day One)

Sarah Jane Smith

While Sarah Jane was admitted to at least one hospital because of her travels with the Doctor, (DW: The Hand of Fear) she sometimes encountered them simply as the result of her freelance work as a journalist. For instance, she once appeared to be conducting a fairly routine journalistic investigation of MRSA infections at a British hospital. This kept her away from most of the events surrounding Clyde Langer's dad's misappropriation of the Berserker Pendant. (SJA: The Mark of the Berserker)

However, sometimes these investigations led to her more usual practice of combatting alien incursions. On one such occasion, questions asked at the Lavender Lawns rest home led her to understand that its manager, Mrs. Gribbins, was actually in league with the Gorgons. (SJA: Eye of the Gorgon)

Sarah Jane was, however, somewhat cautious of hospitals when it came to the treatment of her son, Luke Smith. She once declined to take him to a hospital, despite his serious malady, because she feared that routine medical procedures might reveal his unusual physiology. This, she felt, could potentially lead to his being taken from her by British authorities. (SJA: The Gift)

Other known hospitals

Some medical treatment facilities were places which only tangentially involved the Doctor or his (former) companions. Many of these facilities were not known by name.

The Doctor once visited the unnamed hospital where Edgar Allan Poe died. (ST: The True and Indisputable Facts in the Matter of the Ram's Skull)

The colony on Vulcan had medical facilities briefly encountered by the newly regenerated Doctor. (DW: The Power of the Daleks)

After the Moderator was shot by Angus Goodman, he went to an unnamed facility to recover, but was killed when Hob, an assistant to Josiah W. Dogbolter, took him off life support. (DWM: The Moderator)

Many British hospitals were used by the vampires of the Forge as places to donate blood. This arguably immoral behaviour placated the authorities, and allowed them to turn a blind eye to the vampires' activities. (BFA: Project: Twilight)

Adipose 3 was a planet entirely given over to the pre- and post-natal care of Adipose. Its removal to the Medusa Cascade by Davros forced Miss Foster to attempt to use Earth as a nursery world. (DW: Partners in Crime, The Stolen Earth)

The Doctor's tenth self and Donna Noble once visited a hospital at Snowglobe 6, which was filled to capacity with infected Gappa. (NSA: Snowglobe 7) At another point in this incarnation, the Doctor helped Mae Harrison, a woman whose eyes had been stolen, make a full recovery at an unnamed London hospital. (TDL: The Pictures of Emptiness)

Fictional

Hospitals were occasionally the setting of wholly fictional dramas. For instance, Channel 400 on the planet Blinni-Gaar broadcast what was likely a soap opera set in the titular Ogron Hospital. (PDA: Prime Time)

Behind the scenes

Real life hospitals have proven popular filming locations.

• Ford's Hospital and Lord Leycester Hospital (DW: The Shakespeare Code)
• St Anne's Hospital (DW: The Invasion of Time)
• Cardiff Royal Infirmary (DW: Aliens of London, The Empty Child, The Doctor Dances)
• Milford Chest Hospital (DW: Doctor Who and the Silurians)
• St. Crispin's Hospital (DW: The Talons of Weng-Chiang)
• The District Miners Hospital in Caerphilly, Wales. Setting for DW: Blink, TW: Reset, From Out of the Rain.
• Glanrhyd Hospital in Bridgend, Wales. (TW: To the Last Man)
• Singleton Hospital, Sketty, Swansea, Wales. (DW: Smith and Jones)
• St. Cadoc's Hospital, Caerleon, Gwent, Wales. (TW: Sleeper, Children of Earth: Day One; exteriors for Royal Leadworth Hospital in DW: The Eleventh Hour)
• University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. (DW: Rose, World War Three; TW: Children of Earth: Day One)
• British Columbia Children's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. {DW: Doctor Who (1996))
• Royal Hamadryad Hospital, Cardiff, Wales. (DW: Rise of the Cybermen)
• Lord Leycester Hospital, Warwick, England. (DW: The Shakespeare Code)
• Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Ynysmaerdy, Llantrissant, Wales. (TW: Dead Man Walking)
• Whitechurch Hospital, Whitechurch, Cardiff. (TW: From Out of the Rain)
• Llandough Hospital, Llandough, Wales. (SJA: Mark of the Berserker)
• Arbertillery Hospital, Arbertillery, Wales; interiors of the Royal Leadworth Hospital. (DW: The Eleventh Hour)