Medical students are placed at the hospital by the Wessex Deanery of Health Education England.

The foundation stone was laid in 1765 but the building was requisitioned by the military in 1779 as there was no barracks on the island.

Until 1868, when St Saviour's Hospital was opened, it also served as a lunatic asylum.

[3][better source needed] There were plans to replace it with a single-site facility at Overdale costed at £804 million but in November 2022 it was reported that the plans were now for a hybrid General Hospital spread across the existing Gloucester Street site, adjacent land at Kensington Place, and Overdale.

[4] Some patients have to travel to UK hospitals for specialised treatment.