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1a Raddlebarn road

sarunte43

master brummie
Can anyone tell me what it was like to be a patient at Selly Oak house in 1930? have found a relative's death cert with address 1a Raddlebarn road. She was a domestic servant and unmarked, age 80...

Thank you
SR
 
By the 1930's Selly Oak Hospital had a mixture of purpose built wards and converted workhouse buildings. The older converted blocks were not really suitable for patient care they had narrow winding corridors with a number of small side rooms for up to 4 patients, but were used to increase the total number of beds available The newer wards were of the type developed from the recommendations of Florence Nightingale hence known as "Nightingale wards", they are the traditional image we see of a ward it would be long and narrow suitable for up to 40 beds, well lit and ventilated, and laid out to be practicable for patient care.
As this was still the early days of medicine and surgery, care would not be as complex as today and the majority of patients would be for palliative care just as a hospice today. Many would be long stay, my grand father was in for over 12 months and my late father-in-law for nearly 2 years.

Colin
 
My hubby's grandmother died in Ward 1B Raddlebarn Road on 10 December 1928 aged 44 when hubby's dad was 3½ years old.

She died following amputation of her left breast in July 1928 due to carcinoma and secondary growths in her lymphatic glands, thorax and abdomen. There was a post mortem and the death certificate was signed by H Carson M.B.

She left 6 children and a husband who died two years later resulting in their family being split up, my hubby’s father going into foster care and Children’s Homes.

I feel such sadness for her when I think of what she went through.

On a lighter note I went into SOH (Ward D4) following an accident in November 1968 and leaving in March 1969. D4 was one of the long wards described above. They really looked after me. I remember when I was on the mend I was moved to the top end of the ward by the visiting room and there was a fireplace by my side where cockroaches would crawl out of during the night. I was on traction so couldn't get out of bed, but the nurses would come and tread on them eeewwwwww.
 
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