Before St Erik’s Eye Hospital stood in Hagastaden it had a different life. A life far removed from state-of-the-art ophthalmology. It started as something entirely different.
St Erik’s Eye Hospital wasn’t always a leading eye hospital in Europe. Its history stretches back much further than its 1990 founding. Long before modern surgeries and advanced treatments its location housed something quite different. The site was once Stockholm’s city work and welfare institution. Known as Grubbens after a previous landowner it served a far less fortunate population.
In 1922 Grubbens was renamed St Erik’s Hospital and welfare home. It served a purpose for only a few years. Its clients moved to other institutions in 1926. Then in 1933 St Erik’s Hospital came under the Stockholm City Hospital Board. Surgical medical and gynecological-obstetric clinics were added over time.
The oldest buildings on the original site date back to 1859-1860. The original main building facing Fleminggatan still stands today. The eye hospital itself occupied newer premises. These were constructed in 1968 on the western part of the hospital grounds. The ophthalmology department of the Karolinska Institutet was even located in the hospital building. St Erik’s Eye Hospital also housed the Public Dental Service’s dental emergency clinic. This later moved in 2015. A health center also operated on the site. It branched off from the region in 2008 becoming a private company. A Karolinska Institute university laboratory had a sampling unit nearby.
St Erik’s Eye Hospital’s move to Hagastaden marked a significant chapter. On September 27 2020 the hospital relocated to its current modern facility. All the fixtures and fittings from the old hospital building were auctioned off. This created quite a stir attracting many bidders. The hospital now sees 175 000 planned and emergency patient visits yearly. It has 450 employees serving patients from across Sweden and abroad.
From humble beginnings as a welfare institution St Erik’s Eye Hospital has evolved into a leading center for ophthalmic care. Its rich history is a testament to its adaptability and commitment to providing high-quality eye care. Today’s state-of-the-art facility reflects the hospital’s long journey from its origins to its present prominence. This fascinating history is part of what makes St Erik’s Eye Hospital so unique.