[1][4] It is a teaching hospital of the Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore.

[5] The hospital named after the then governor, Beilby Lawley, 3rd Baron Wenlock was established in 1848 during the British Raj when Mangalore was a part of the Madras Presidency.

After India's independence, the hospital came under control of the Madras State.

[6] The hospital is India's oldest example of a public-private partnership in medical education.

KMC Mangalore has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Karnataka to use the hospital as a teaching hospital and the college provides healthcare staff and laboratory facilities.