Inside UK’s last naval hospital where scurvy was cured: Georgian building which is fully equipped with the latest medical equipment but has been empty for FOUR YEARS



Medical equipment worth millions of pounds has been abandoned by MOD



The site has been under lock and key since being sold for £3 million

Among the equipment are X-ray machines and CT scanners

The hospital was where the cure for naval disease scurvy was discovered



Medical equipment worth millions of pounds that was used as recently as 2009 is gathering dust at Britain's last military hospital.

The Royal Hospital Haslar, which was where the cure for the naval disease scurvy was discovered, closed its doors for the last time four years ago, when it was sold by the MOD to private firm Our Enterprise for a reported £3 million.

Now an undercover photographer has gained access to the 63-acre site in Gosport, Hampshire, and captured the apparently fully equipped hospital - paid for by the taxpayer - that has been left abandoned to its fate.



Waste: medical equipment worth millions of pounds and paid for by the taxpayer is gathering dust

Abandoned: None of the medical equipment at the Royal Hospital Haslar has ever been removed

Bizarre: Much of the equipment inside the Haslar looks in good condition and appears ready for use

Operation: The firm behind the project insisted most of the equipment that had value was taken

Fabric: The equipment that remains is said to be embedded into the ceiling and walls making it difficult to remove

Exactly why is a mystery.

'Urban explorer', known only as Chaos, said: ' It was almost impossible to take these pictures.

' I almost gave up after searching for around an hour for a way in, whilst avoiding active security patrols, who are renowned for being merciless.

' A lot of effort from the security company had gone into making sure that this location was incredibly well sealed.

' But even the keenest eye can overlook a tiny detail, which can be all we need to find our way inside.'

Once inside, Chaos described a seen that was a monument to the past, with modern-looking CT scanners, operation theatres, wards and other medical equipment potentially bought for millions when they were first purchased still looking like they were ready to use.

He said: ' Behind those beautiful Georgian walls remains the familiar sight of a fairly modern hospital albeit, now completely deserted.

' Staggering amounts of seemingly priceless medical machinery remain, such as X-ray machines, MRI and CT scanners.

Historic: The Royal Hospital Haslar was built in 1746 and was at the centre of the cure for scurvy Scrap: The owner of the property says everything of value was removed and what remains has no value Empty: This room would have contained other equipment, that was removed by the NHS

Eerie: The beds might have been removed, but other equipment remains in the abandoned ward

Spotless: A corridor inside the hospital show very few signs of wear and tear

Notes: Procedures and guidelines remain pinned up on the hospital's walls

Deep clean: Other equipment with no value even remains on site, never having been cleared away

' No doubt these have now fallen victim to rapid advances in technology and are more than likely obsolete by the standards of today.

' I found departments of the hospital that would otherwise be inaccessible to the general public in a working hospital.



'We can see what it’s like in the operating theatres and the laboratories littered with chemistry equipment, biopsy scanners and centrifuges.'

The hospital was built in 1746 during the reign of ‘mad’ King George I, and was once the last exclusively military hospital in the UK that was once the largest brick-built building in the country was closed in 2009.

Reception: The fixtures and fittings of the X-Ray unit remain in place

Technology: Even computer equipment remains onsite at the former hospital in Gosport

Theatre: The view shows an operating theatre at what was the last British military hospital

Embedded: This piece of equipment, fitted into the wall, could not be removed without causing damage

OurEnterprise: The new owner of the hospital claims the only equipment that remains is that which could not be sold or even given away

Containers: This equipment was considered surplus to requirements when the NHS moved out

The most eminent surgeon serving at the hospital was James Lind, who sailed with the legendary British explorer Captain Cook.

He correctly linked the lack of fruit and vegetables in the diet of sailors as being the root cause of scurvy.

' I always try and imagine the place when it was operational and wonder what it would have been like to be a fly on the wall,' said Chaos.

' People can’t quite believe that I had free roam of a fairly modern hospital in its entirety.

'I feel privileged to be one of the people to have explored this great site before redevelopment commences.'

After campaigning against the closing of Haslar, disgruntled local people pointed out that Britain became one of the only Western nations not to have a dedicated military hospital.

Since the Ministery of Defence sale of site there are now plans to turn the it into a retirement home with leisure facilities for former UK military personnel.



Patients: Although it was originally a military hospital, the Haslar eventually opened its doors to the public

Worthless: This piece of equipment could not even be given away The new owner of the building, OurEnterprise, has insisted everything was done to either redeploy, sell or given equipment away. Director Matt Bell said when the NHS opened its new 'super hospital' the Queen Alexandra, any equipment that could still be used was moved to the new centre. The rest of the equipment was either sold or given away. During the Pakistan floods, Mr Bell said he personally worked with several charities to pass on equipment to the crisis hit country in 2010. Equipment with scrap value was even removed. He added: 'The NHS took the equipment they thought had value. The stuff that remained was obsolete. 'We sent some equipment to Pakistan, but most of it was not even of use to them. 'What was there that was of any value was taken. What's left there now is of zero value. 'Most of what's in the operating theatres couldn't be taken out without pulling the walls away.' An MOD spokeswoman denied abandoning the medical equipment, saying: 'We sold the building and all its contents to a private company, thereby safeguarding taxpayers’ money. 'Our medical training facilities have now relocated to a number of Ministry of Defence Hospital Units (MDHUs) which provide world class medical care to all injured Service personnel.'



Warnings: A whole range of medical services were carried out at the Haslar