Royal Public Dispensary of Edinburgh

Edinburgh has a history of providing free medical care to the poor. In first meeting of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, in 1681, the Fellows drew up a scheme to provide free medical care for the poor of Edinburgh. By the eighteenth century, Edinburgh remained overcrowded, disease-ridden, and overflowing with the poor. In 1705, the Fellows at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh unanimously agreed to continue providing medical aid for the poor by two Fellows per year at their new premises in Fountain Close. This "Dispensary" service continued at Fountain Close until 1729 when it transferred to the new "Physicians’ Hospital or Infirmary for the Sick and Poor."

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