The Science Museum in London hosts one of the world’s largest medical collections, born from Sir Henry Wellcome’s vision to preserve the history of healing through objects. The modern Wellcome Galleries display over 3,000 items—from Fleming’s penicillin mould and the first MRI scanner to early prosthetics and surgical robots. Blending science, history, and ethics, the galleries engage millions of visitors yearly, while the digital catalogue and ongoing acquisitions ensure global educational and research impact.

The Wellcome Library is one of the world's leading resources for the study of medical history and the human condition, offering an extensive collection spanning several centuries. It is located in a distinctive building (183 Euston Road, London – just next to the University College Hospital areal), known for its unique architecture and historical significance, serves as a hub for both the Wellcome Collection's library and its wider range of activities, including exhibitions and public events focused on health and medicine. It forms a part of the Wellcome Collection, a free museum and library that aims to challenge how we all think and feel about health. Significantly, the Wellcome Library has made strides in digitizing its collections, making many of its treasures accessible online. This initiative greatly facilitates research for scholars, students, and the general public, who can now explore vast amounts of material from the comfort of their homes. The Wellcome collection is rich and varied, featuring an array of materials including books, manuscripts, archives, films, and paintings, all related to the development of medicine and health care. These resources not only encompass Western medicine but also cover a wide range of cultural and historical perspectives on health and disease from across the globe.

Barts Museum in the City of London is Britain's oldest working hospital on its original site, founded in 1123 by Rahere. Housed in the Grade I listed North Wing, it reopened in October 2025 after a £5.3m restoration. Entry is free. Highlights include the Great Hall, Hogarth's murals, and the Henry VIII Gatehouse with London's only public statue of the king. Famous names: Florence Nightingale, Elizabeth Blackwell, James Paget. Literary link: Sherlock Holmes met Dr Watson here. Nearby: St Bartholomew-the-Great church and Smithfield Market. 

St Thomas’ Hospital, founded c. 1100 in Southwark, was relocated in 1862 due to railway expansion. Its current  building (1872) at the Thames-side site opposite of the Westminster Palace, designed by Henry Currey was laid by Queen Victoria. In 1860, Nightingale founded Britain’s first nursing school at St. Thomas’s, which today is part of King’s College London. The hospital’s Central Hall houses a free mini-museum dedicated to the hospital’s history, and the new wing is home to the Florence Nightingale Museum.

The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret in London is Europe's oldest surviving surgical theatre. Tucked away inside the timber-framed attic of St Thomas' Church, this unique institution dates back to 1822. It predates both anaesthetics and antiseptics, offering a visceral look into 19th-century medical procedures. It was closed in 1862 and was then sealed up and forgotten until being rediscovered in the 20th century — it reopened as a museum in 1962.