Before the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu which was built in the year 1957, the hospital in existence was the Jesselton Hospital which was built immediately after the World War II at mile one, Jalan Tuaran next to the Radio Malaysia Sabah building. The hospital was made from wooden planks with attap roofs.
   

Front view of  Jesselton Hospital	Side view of the Jesselton Hospital with the adjacent RTM Building

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital was commissioned on 14th September 1957 by the countess of Perth and the then Minister of Colonial Land affairs, the Earl of Perth. At the time of its commissioning the hospital consisted only of one block of building, namely the block presently known as the Old Block.

The hospital was built on as small hillock located along mile 1½, Jalan Penampang. At the beginning the hospital consisted of only 208 beds. at the same time the Tuberculosis hospital was built on another nearby hill, this consisting of 135 beds. 

Since its opening in 1957, the Queen Elizabeth hospital underwent rapid development. it grew bigger and more complex with the addition of several new buildings and renovation work of its buildings from time to time. 

In 1967 a new block was built to accommodate the Outpatient department and the Central laboratory. This existing old Outpatient Department was at the same time renovated to become the Physiotherapy Unit. 

The Old Block in the 1970s	Queen Elizabeth's visit in 1971

In 1980 the Maternity and Nursery Block was erected. In May 1981 the First Class Maternity Unit was renovated and became the Children's Ward. The General Administration Office was relocated to the first floor of the Old Block and the vacated area was taken over by the Laboratory. At the same time the Accident and Emergency Unit situated within the Outpatient department was enlarged at a cost of RM75,000.   

The biggest development took place with the construction of the Tower block at the cost of RM 20 million in 1981. The opening of the Tower Block in December 1981 changed once and for all the skyline in the vicinity of the hospital; what previously was only rolling hills with low rise buildings now had a high rise building that has come to be a familiar landmark over the years.

 The Tower Block consisted of the CCSD, Inpatient pharmacy, Radiology department, ophthalmology department, several surgical wards and the First Class and VIP wards.
Currently the Queen Elizabeth hospital is the largest hospital in the state of Sabah. It is the referral center for all the peripheral district hospitals in the state and consists of 589 beds. the hospital also provides several key areas of medical care, including burns Unit and the Paediatric Intensive Care unit.
 

Nevertheless the development of Queen Elizabeth Hospital is still ongoing. The master Plan which started in 1995 will be implemented in 2 phases. Included in the plans are the construction of 2 new tower blocks which will include a new Accident and Emergency unit, a Central laboratory, several wards and the extension of the existing Intensive Care Unit with an addition of a Coronary Care Unit. These developments will bring the hospital confidently into the 21st century when the hospital will play an even more important role in the building of a healthy and progressive society.