The Hotel Dieu in Paris is one of Europe’s oldest hospitals
still operating today, dating back to around 651 CE. Like many
early and medieval hospitals it was a multipurpose institution
which catered for the poor and sick, offering food and shelter,
as well as medical care. From 1580, however, the hospital’s
regulations specified that doctors and surgeons were to visit
patients twice a week. During this period the hospital often
housed more than 3500 patients at the same time. By the 1700s
there were eight physicians on its medical staff, a high number
for this time, and 100 surgeons. It was damaged by fire in 1772
and not fully rebuilt until the reign of Napoleon. Nevertheless
it remained very overcrowded. Beds were placed in every
available room, and there were sometimes up to six patients in a
single bed. It became regarded as the most unhealthy and
uncomfortable hospital in France, maybe even Europe. During the
French Revolution, pressure on the hospital was relieved through
the creation of several new ge