Darent Valley Hospital
General
Org groupDartford and Gravesham NHS Trust
LocationDartford, Kent, England
Coordinates51.435°N 0.2584°E
HealthcareNational Health Service
FundingPublic
EmergencyYes
HelipadYes
Affiliation
Beds463
Opened14 December 2000

Darent Valley Hospital is a district general hospital in Dartford, Kent, England. It is managed by Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust.

History

Main article: Darenth Park Hospital

The hospital, which was built to replace Joyce Green Hospital, stands on the site of the former Darenth Park Hospital, founded by the Metropolitan Asylums Board as "Darenth School" in 1878.[2] The Regional Health Board agreed to close Darenth in 1973, but the last patients did not leave until 1988.[2] The vast Victorian complex was then demolished.[2]

The new buildings were procured under a Private Finance Initiative contract in 1997, the first hospital project to use this form of procurement.[3] They were designed by Nightingale Paulley Associates and built by Carillion[4] at a cost of £94 million.[5] The new hospital, which replaced the services previously provided at West Hill Hospital, Dartford and Joyce Green Hospital, Dartford, was officially opened by Alan Milburn, Secretary of State for Health, on 14 December 2000.[6]

A new on-site heart centre was opened on 2 January 2007.[7]

Facilities

In the main foyer of the hospital there are Costa Coffee, M&S Food and WHSmith outlets and a charity shop run by the local hospice.[8][9]

Public transport

The hospital is served by London Buses routes 96 and 428, which run from the nearby Bluewater Shopping Centre to the hospital and then fast via part of the Fastrack system to Dartford station and then on to Woolwich and Erith respectively. Fastrack route B and other local buses also serve the hospital.[10]

References

  1. ^ "GKT School of Medical Education Clinical placement sites". King's College London. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  2. ^ "Darenth Park Hospital". Lost Hospitals of London. June 2009. Retrieved 30 November 2013.
  3. ^ The PFI contract for the new Dartford and Gravesham Hospital. National Audit Office. 1999. ISBN 978-0-10-266199-6. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Darent Valley Hospital: The PFI contract in action". National Audit Office. 10 February 2005. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  5. ^ "NHS capital expenditure and the private finance initiative—expansion or contraction?". British Medical Journal. 3 July 1999. p. 49. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  6. ^ "Darent Valley Hospital". Lost Hospitals of London. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  7. ^ "NHS Finances". Hansard. 9 January 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Medirest @ Darent Valley Hospital K865". Costa Coffee. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  9. ^ "Dartford NHS Hospital". Marks & Spencer. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
  10. ^ "Visiting Darent Valley Hospital". Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust. Retrieved 10 April 2025.