On this day, 3 July 1792 a number of Belfast Charitable Society, the medical profession and members of the general public sought to expand medical provision in the town of Belfast. A plan for a General Dispensary for the ‘labourers and artists’ of Belfast reduced to poverty through by sickness ‘who face speedy ruin’ was put forward, and passed.
The Belfast Charitable Society provided a venue for the General Dispensary in the Poor House. It gave medicine out to the labouring classes as well as supplying the Poor House in return for the use of the premises. The medical professionals involved with the Poor House also agreed to allow people from outside its walls to attend on two days in the week at 12noon and 3pm to been seen by a doctor, arguably the first GP surgery in Belfast, with prescriptions for treatment provided by the Dispensary. In essence this became a one stop shop for health care for the poor in Belfast, catering for all their needs.