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Public hospitals

Hospital de Clínicas "Dr. Manuel Quintela" is a University Hospital attached to the University of the Republic, and is located on Avenida Italia. It functions as an adult general polyclinic and hospital. The building was designed by architect Carlos Surraco in 1928–1929 and has a surface area of 110,000 square meters (1,200,000 sq ft) on 23 floors. The hospital was inaugurated 21 September 1953. For many years it was led by Dr. Hugo Villar, who was a considerable influence on the institution.

Hospital Maciel is one of the oldest hospitals in Uruguay and stands on the block bounded by the streets Maciel, 25 de Mayo, Guaraní and Washington, with the main entrance at 25 de Mayo, 172. The land was originally donated in Spanish colonial times by philanthropist Francisco Antonio Maciel, who teamed up with Mateo Vidal to establish a hospital and charity. The first building was constructed between 1781 and 1788 and later expanded upon. The present building stems from the 1825 plans of José Toribio (son of Tomás Toribio) and later Bernardo Poncini (wing on the Guaraní street, 1859), Eduardo Canstatt (corner of Guaraní and 25 de Mayo) and Julián Masquelez (1889). The hospital has a chapel built in Greek style by Miguel Estévez in 1798.

Hospital Pereira Rossell was founded in 1908 and was built on land donated in late 1900 by Alexis Rossell y Rius and Dolores Pereira de Rossell. It was the city's first pediatric hospital, and shortly afterwards the addition of an obstetric and gynecological clinic in 1915 made it the first maternity hospital as well. Later, the hospital received a donation from Dr. Enrique Pouey for a radiotherapy unit.

Hospital Vilardebó is the only psychiatric hospital in Montevideo. Named after the physician and naturalist Teodoro Vilardebó, it opened 21 May 1880. The hospital was originally one of the best of Latin America and in 1915 grew to 1,500 inpatients. Today the hospital is very deteriorated, with broken walls and floors, lack of medicines, beds, and rooms for the personnel. It has an emergency service, outpatient, clinic and inpatient rooms and employs approximately 610 staff, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, administrators, guards, among others. The average patient age is 30 years; more than half of the patients arrive by court order; 42% suffer from schizophrenia, 18% from depression and mania, and there are also a high percentage of drug addicted patients.

Other public polyclinics and hospitals of note include the Hospital Saint Bois, founded 18 November 1928, which consists of a General Hospital and Eye Hospital; the Pasteur Hospital in La Unión neighborhood; the Hospital Español, which was founded in 1886, passed to the private sector in the 20th century, closed in 2004 and was restored and re-inaugurated in 2007 as the municipal Juan Jose Crottogini Polyclinic; the National Cancer Institute; and the National Institute of Trauma and Orthopedics.