On this day in 1977, a district team of officers raided Hounslow hospital in West London, cutting phone lines and removing patients from the facility. Workers had been occupying the facility since March to prevent its closure.

Hounslow Hospital was a small facility for geriatric and long-stay patients in an industrial area. The hospital was considered a home as well as a place for treatment.

Hounslow's closure was announced by the state in January 1977 and scheduled for August. A hospital staff occupation started as a "work-in" in March, intent on exploiting a legal loophole where, if the hospital has patients, the law mandates the hospital be funded.

Management tried to transfer staff, and threatened those who refused with sanctions and firing. The threats did not succeed, and the work-in continued beyond the scheduled closing date.

On this day in 1977, a district team of officers raided Hounslow hospital to evict occupying workers, cutting phone lines and removing patients from the facility. Beds and furniture were wrecked, the floor strewn with food, torn mattresses, sheets, and personal articles.

In this manner, the hospital was closed by force. The raid provoked a public outcry and led directly a year-long occupation of the closed hospital. 2000 striking hospital workers picketed the Ealing, Hammersmith, and Hounslow Area Health Authority (AHA) to protest the raid and demand that the hospital be reopened. When the occupation ended, work began on redesigning the facilities into a new community hospital/health center.