Victorian medical politics: the fate of Dr Alfred Stephens (1821-90)

Dr Alfred Stephens was the co-founder of the Liverpool Children's Infirmary. The institution was funded initially by Matthew Gregson (1800-76) and later by public subscription. Opened in 1851, it was the second Children's Hospital in England. Alfred Stephens was a general practitioner without higher qualifications. In due course he perceived that the free treatment of children at the Infirmary affected his income and he redirected patients to his practice. This led to confrontation with his colleagues and the Board of the Infirmary, and good relations were never restored. His name has not been commemorated nor his charitable work remembered.