The hospital was built in 1939 in order to expand the service of the Chiang Mai Municipality Hospital to the public. Known locally as Suan Dok Hospital, it was officially named Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital in 1941 and became the teaching hospital for the Faculty of Medicine in 1959. There have been phases of expansion and development since then. The name was changed to Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital in 1983 by Royal permission. The hospital consists of several buildings: an old 7-story building, the 15-story Sujinno Building, and the 15-story Sripat Building, which is under construction. The Sujinno Building was finished in 1983 in commemoration of the 60th birthday of Luang Pu Wan Sujinno, a very highly revered monk in Thailand.