Ninewells at 50

For any Medicine alumni of the era – or indeed anyone who had cause to be attending the hospital – these remarkable pictures from the University Archives will transport you back to the early 1970s, as Ninewells Hospital opened its doors and welcomed patients, while also providing a new home for our School of Medicine.

Opened in 1974 by HM the Queen Mother, Ninewells Hospital and the School of Medicine took over from Dundee Royal Infirmary as the principal site of medical teaching for the University of Dundee.

Professor Rory McCrimmon, current Dean of the School of Medicine, said, “When it was opened in 1974 by the Queen Mother, Ninewells Hospital was unique for having the first medical school actually incorporated into its design and build.

“This close relationship between the School of Medicine and the hospital is one of the reasons we are renowned for our undergraduate medicine programme. We believe in training students as ‘Doctors from Day One’ and this is helped by the fact that our students are exposed to the clinical environment from the very first day.

“This close relationship with NHS Tayside also underpins our world-leading research that very much focuses on the clinical problems facing our society today.” 

The ceremonial first sod was cut on the Ninewells site for the new hospital in August 1964 and the foundation stone was laid a year later by Lord Hughes of Hawkhill, Minister in the Scottish Office and former Lord Provost of Dundee. The massive building project resulted in the hospital opening its door in 1974.

As our pictures show, it was a state-of-the-art facility, although one that clearly predated the desktop computer era! If you have stories and memories of Ninewells in its early days, we would love to hear them, get in touch via alumni@dundee.ac.uk