Medical advances, NHS reorganisation and social change make the scenes in these old black and white photos almost unrecognisable to those used to the hospitals of the 2020s.
Yet the doctors, nurses and other staff all these decades ago had the same purpose as their counterparts today - to deliver the best possible care and treatment for their patients.
This selection of pictures from the Evening News archives capture the health service in the Capital 60 or 70 years ago.
When some of these pictures were taken the National Health Service was less than 10 or 20 years old. Have a look through this picture gallery and get a feel for the atmosphere of the time.
13. Early kidney machine
An "artificial kidney" at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, April 1966. "Technicians show how the machine is connected to the kidney patient. An operation has to be performed on an artery to allow it to remain open. In this way the kidney machine can be used constantly." | TSPL Photo: Joe Steele
14. Dean Nursing College
Exterior of the Dean Nursing College - formerly the Dean Orphanage, later the Dean Education Centre and now the National Galleries of Scotland's Modern Two gallery - in Belford Road, Edinburgh, May 1966. | TSPL Photo: Ian Porteous
15. Doctors at Leith Hospital
Junior doctors at Leith Hospital, 1951. | TSPL Photo: Supplied
16. Coronary Care Unit
A nurse on shift at the Coronary Care Unit at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, September 1967. | TSPL Photo: Hamish Campbell