Table 1.

The annual average out-patient attendance at three London and three provincial hospitals in each decade between 1800–1809 and 1900–1909.

London hospitals
Decade	The London Hospital	St Bartholomew's Hospital	Royal Free Hospital
1800–1809	1001	4450	–
1810–1819	2597	–	–
1820–1829	5422	7491	–
1830–1839	6256	43 551	3789
1840–1849	11 913	65 747	27 562
1850–1859	17 053	84 983	34 019
1860–1869	25 906	128 110	66 662
1870–1879	52 226	160 520	39 241a
1880–1889	80 231	144 681	22 381
1890–1899	141 643	165 719	31 229
1900–1909	221 780	150 743	38 625

Provincial hospitals
Decade	Radcliffe Infirmary Oxford	Gloucester Infirmary	North Staffordshire Infirmary
1800–1809	296	341	513
1810–1819	247	243	855
1820–1829	258	251	1451
1830–1839	522	500	1986
1840–1849	1348	583	3113
1850–1859	2893	762	4519
1860–1869	4633	1119	4917
1870–1879	4463	3714	5713
1880–1889	6030	5055	9213
1890–1899	6931	7513	10 048
1900–1909	8567	9010	–

Sources: The annual reports and other archives of each hospital.

^aThe apparent fall in out-patient attendance in the 1870s at the Royal Free Hospital was due to a change (from 1865) in the system of recording such attendance