The hospital originated as the College of St. Anthony-o-Novo in 1593. In the 18th Century, the College of St. Anthony-o-Novo started receiving patients from Hospital de Todos-os-Santos, which was destroyed by the 1755 earthquake. Soon it had to turn itself fully toward medical treatments and that’s how the Royal Hospital of St. Joseph was born.
Due to generous donations from the Countess of Linhares, Philippa de Sá, the hospital was completed with the addition of a grand church, Santo Inácio de Loyola and a beautiful sacristy, designed by royal architect João Antunes. These beautiful buildings now serve as the current chapel of the Hospital of São José.
In 1825, thanks to the strong commitment of the surgeon Manoel Constâncio, the institution was honoured with the title of the ‘Royal School of Surgery and Medical-Surgical School of Lisbon’.
In 1844, the hospital was the first to be included on the prestigious list of hospitals forming the group of ‘Civil Hospitals of Lisbon (HCL). This designation became effective in 1913. The HCL is considered to be an extremely demanding medical school for the post-graduate training of specialist physicians.
The surgery school, the emergency care and several of the hospital’s physicians are highly respected. The hospital also saw the birth of new specialties such as Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Maxillofacial Surgery, Intensive Care, the Burn Unit, Neurotraumatology and Spinal Cord Surgery.
The Hospital of St. José is a great example of where excellence in science meets fine arts. The excellent hospital facilities co-exist with the beautiful architecture of the Santo Inácio de Loyola.
Despite all this, the hospital is scheduled for closure in 2019 and its staff services will be transferred to the future Hospital of Eastern Lisbon at Bela Vista Park in Chelas.
