Hospital Curry Cabral

What if walls could talk? The walls of Hospital Curry Cabral in Lisbon could tell tales of epidemics, medical innovation, and the evolution of healthcare in Portugal. Hospital Curry Cabral stands as a testament to Portugal’s commitment to public health. It’s a key part of the Central Lisbon University Hospital Centre, a state-owned enterprise. The hospital serves the Greater Lisbon area. Originally, in the early 20th century, Hospital Curry Cabral specialized in infectious diseases. Today, it offers a broader range of specialities. It’s a national reference centre for liver transplantation and hepato-bilio-pancreatic diseases. It also houses the only public physical medicine and rehabilitation inpatient care service in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area. The hospital’s namesake, José Curry da Câmara Cabral, was a prominent clinician and medical researcher. He was instrumental in the hospital’s founding in 1906. Hospital Curry Cabral’s history is intertwined with the history of Lisbon itself. In the early 20th century, Lisbon needed a dedicated infectious diseases hospital. Before then, Saint Joseph’s Hospital handled these cases. In 1892, the Convent of Our Lady of Nazareth in Arroios became Arroios Hospital. This served as an isolation hospital for smallpox and other contagious diseases. The convent proved inadequate. So, a new hospital was built. The site was a plot of land that had belonged to the Convent of Our Lady of Sorrows in the Rego neighborhood. This area, Avenidas Novas, was expanding as Lisbon grew north. Prime Minister Hintze Ribeiro and a grant from Caixa Geral de Depósitos made the new hospital possible. Construction finished in December 1904. The first patients, transferred from Arroios Hospital, arrived in January 1906. It was first called Rego Hospital. Then, in 1929, it was renamed Hospital Curry Cabral to honor its founder. Hospital Curry Cabral became part of Lisbon’s hospital centre. This was initially called “Saint Joseph’s Hospital and Annexes.” Later, it became the “Civil Hospitals of Lisbon.” In 1978, Hospital Curry Cabral transitioned from an infectious diseases hospital to a general hospital. It gained administrative autonomy in 1989. In the late 1990s, the aging infrastructure was modernized. In 2019, Hospital Curry Cabral made history again. It received the National Health Service’s first robotically assisted surgical system. This was a donation from the Aga Khan Foundation. During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, Hospital Curry Cabral became a first-line referral hospital for COVID-19. Hospital Curry Cabral has witnessed remarkable changes. From its origins as a specialized facility to its role in a global pandemic, its story reflects the evolution of medicine.