St Mary Abbots Hospital is one of four hospitals closed down or demolished in the course of creating the modern Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London. Four hospitals - all created before the NHS - were 'merged' to create one NHS hospital. Land was sold off. In the case of St Mary Abbots, the property is now luxury housing. People in the area now have to travel further to reach a hospital. Beds have been lost. This is typical of what has happened to hospitals since the creation of the NHS. The other hospitals in the 'merger' were Westminster Hospital (founded in 1719), West London Hospital (opened in 1860)and St Stephen's Hospital (whose origin dates back to 1664). For more on St Mary Abbots, click here.