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Skin Hospital

M

Mossy

Guest
Does any one remember the skin hospital being called The Skin And Lock i vaguely remember it being called that,if so for what reason.
Also if my memory served well was in John Bright St :shocked: Mossy
 
Hi Mossy :) Yes i remember the place being called
"The Skin and Lock hospital",, John Bright St or very close to ,
Intriguing why the "Lock ?", maybe Lock-jaw, but hopefully
somebody on the Forum will explain for us,
cheers John Y :cool:
 
I had a chuckle at this as it bought back some memories. As you've probably guessed from my name I am a nurse. I trained at Good Hope in 1980. There wasn't a dermatology dept, at that time, so we went to the skin hospital for the day to learn about skin complaints and treatments!!! The Sister Tutor told us that although the patients skin looked bad nothing was catching and not to pull faces at what we saw. That little talk didn't help and we were all pettriefied at catching something. Guess we were young and naive. Nowadays I'm older, more mature and better informed and she was right you can't catch eczema.
We also spent the day at the Midland Neuro centre in Smethwick and got back late from. our pub lunch!!! Oh to be young and innocent again....
 
Mossy said:
Does any one remember the skin hospital being called The Skin And Lock i vaguely remember it being called that,if so for what reason.
Also if my memory served well was in John Bright St :shocked: Mossy
Click to expand...

Hi Mossy

I've looked at a few Lock Hospitals and the only reason I can find for the word Lock is and is mentioned, but then I might be wrong.
Where is our SUBEE when we want her


https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3672983.stm
 
The Birmingham Skin Hospital was in John Bright Street, it moved from it's original site in Newhall Street in 1888. It is now located at City Hospital (Dudley Road )
I have never seen any reference to "lock" before

Colin
 
thought you might like a photo of an unusual souvenier of this hospital
 
hi there my dad was sent to the skin hospital early 50ish he had septic dermatitis his head and hands it was awful it was like little watery blisters ,when they burst it spread itself where the fluid had been when we went to see him his hands ,head were totally covered with bandages ,two holes for his eyes one each for his nose and mouth he looked like the invisible man accept for the daffodil stuck on his head (mom didnt think it funny)i had the giggles all during the visit mom kept telling me to pack it in i would , you see never laugh at my with him yes you see (well you cannot )but picture aman totaly covered head to toe in bandages lying on his front with a daffodil standing upright from his rear end(mom thought it terrible)
a major item of treatment was fighting depression over the coming months mom began to recognise the extra effort those very special nurses
put in to lift the moral of their patients our knowledge dermatitis is virtually anything on this planet ,somebody somewhere is allergic to it
ie,bakers dermo when they rub their hand together its like a snow storm ,as with cement one of the guys was a gardener his hands were affected one was a soldier he as allergic to the army uniform
part of the treatment for EVERYbody TO USE THE SAME WALK IN BATH. in the treatment room there was a purple coloured pool with steps leading down into it ,and steps the other side to come out of it it was about 5ft deep dad called it "a walk on the brownside because you didnt dry yourself you just let it air dry and your skin turned brown
dermatitous is very personal to the who ever gets it its not contageous
my dad had very red wavey hair itn was cut off three times over a 6mth period
the skin hospital nurses were just great they got my dad better (i do remember thinking that when we went to pick him up)

the liquid in the bath which wasnt changed for anyone was permanganate of potash cheers

33bus:)
tom
 
I remember the skin hospital. I was taken there when I caught scabes. They put me in a bath of something that was quite close to caustic soda. I am sad to say that as a precaution the rest of my family had to go through the same treatment. In case you are wondering I also had ring worm and impatigo. I never had nits or tape worm though
 
I always understood from my mother that the 'lock` part of this hospital's name was to do with the treatment of venereal diseases.

If you put 'lock hospital' into google, it will come up with this as the answer.
 
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most bugs and nits etc like really clean people so its a sort of back handed compliment. However a colleague of mine was worried when a patient came to see her complaining of " those things that bury them selves in your skin - I've got rabies" What she really meant was she had SCABIES:D
Sorry just your average nurse type humour no offence meant
 
A 'lock' hospital is what I suppose we might cll today the V.D. Clinic, though I don't know the significance of the word itself.

The original Birminham 'Skin & Lock Hospital' was opened in 1880 in Newhall Street but due to the increasing demands on its services the new hospital was built in John Bright Street and opened in 1888. Many local hospitals struggled for funds but the new hospital thrived (not sure what to read into this!).
The building cost about £4300 and the ground floor rooms accommodated 120 male and 128 female patients. It was the only hospital of its kind in the Midlands, though the London Lock Hospital was well established.

Bob
 
From : https://www.oldlondonmaps.com/viewspages/0334.html
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The Lock Hospital on Hyde Park Corner was part of Christ's Hospital, and treated those suffering from syphilis. [/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=-1]The name 'Lock' derives from a former hospital which was situated in Southwark and which in medieval times housed lepers. 'Locks', or rags, covered the lepers' lesions, so the hospital came to be known as Lock Hospital. When leprosy became extinct in England, Lock Hospital in Southwark treated venereal diseases instead. It closed in 1760, but later hospitals which dealt with venereal diseases were often known as Lock. [/SIZE][/FONT]
 
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Not sure if your be interested in this. But Myself and my team have just finished the 1st faze of building works to the old Skin hospital in John Bright Street(Rosie O'Briens) , to get the building back into usage. Our task on this faze was to:
1 = Make the building safe.
2 = Rid the building of dry rot.
3 = Get the building dry.
The building itself has never been treated with much respect, apart from having a superb frontage, i'm afraid the interior was poorly put together. in fact i'm surprised non of the floors have collasped over the years (I strongly suspect the original builders had thier canteen in 'The Victoria' over the road). And sadly the building has been treated poorly since.
A revamp in the 60's, saw windows and doors being blocked up and wards partitioned off to make smaller side wards.
The turning of the Hospital into the pub must be the worst though, with holes knocked into supporting walls(with no support put in) and a wholesale clearance of the ground floor.
Today though we have clear the building off dry rot(Experts say the worst they have ever seen) and have left the building as a shell to help prevent further out-breaks.
apart from the ground floor the others have been pretty much left as they was.

Basement= Morgue, complete with original 2" thick slate Morgue slab(see pic). and evidence of Baths area(i.e ceramic brick walls)

Ground= all that is left of the hospital, is the mosaic tiled floor, which must have been a foyay.

First floor= Has operating room, X-ray room, what appears to be chemist and a few side rooms for patients.

Second floor= Wards and chaple

Third floor= water tanks and what we think was Night staff accomodation




If anyone can help with an explanation of the ground floor, it will be much appreciated.
Also the center of the building appears to have been open-air righ down to the ground floor, was it like this as an hospital?
 
It was always refered to as The Skin & Lock Hospital as far back as can remember, i thought it was about hair ie: a "Lock" of hair, thanks for the explanation. Len.
 
Would the ground floor have been used by the doctors who gave you your first exam when you were sent there by your own Docter as they did at the Eye hospital?. Len.
 
Hi i was in the Skin Hospital as a patient, the one that you are talking about in John Bright Street in the sixties was an outpatient hospital, there was another one where I spent many weeks as an inpatient I was on the Childrens Ward and I remember visiting days they locked the wards and visitors had to see there children through the glass doors leading to the ward maybe that is why they called it skin and lock this hospital was off islington row, George Road I think
 
why are people talking about veneral diseases, most of the people that was in the George road site had psoriasis, dermatitis. very bad exma sorry dont know how spell that word, certainly not catching:
 
For some odd reason, I've only just found this thread, although I try to go through the new stuff at least once a day. As so often happens, I couldn't help think what a marvellous amount of good information has been posted, and I feel a lot wiser for it.
I enjoyed the result of different people putting their knowledge together - two minds are always better than one, and there's always room for another.
It's a pity that some contributors to other parts of this forum do not have the same attitude, and upset each other for no real reason.
Anyway here's a vote of thanks for all the contributions on this thread so far.
Peter
 
I agree Peter with your remarks.

Anyway, although obviously not a pleasant subject re venereal diseases. This was obviously a problem in Birmingham but probably had a low profile. I doubt whether very many patients with this condition would want it known. The only connection I can remember about it was the fact that every ladies loo I went into in Brum and suburbs, these would be the public conveniences, had a message on each cubicle door regarding this condition and it mentioned whom to contact at a hospital in the event that a person thought they might be infected.

I had to ask my mother what this condition actually was and she wasn't about to discuss it with her eight year old daughter. It was years before I found out. The subject and many health issues just never came up for discussion in those times.
 
Fifty years ago my parents would not have let me read this thread. At the age of 14 yrs , as an Air Cadet I saw an RAF Educational Film on Venereal disease. Some BHF members must have seen it when in the Services. Frightened the living daylights out of me. I remember two cadets passed out. Any way it kept me on the straight and narrow. Never had it and never likely to, I can still remember the graphic images. Mind you its different now.If you have not caught Chlamydia by the time you are sixteen then you realy should get out more. Despite all the education its still on the increase.
 
How things changed. I can remember , probably about 1973, posters all around selly oak and the area advertising a band called VD Clinic !
Mike
 
skin hospital wasnt a vd hospital i nursed 1 lady infected by husband retuning from war soon as it was know she was sent elsewhere i was very upset for her i would still like news of 1946-7 nurses does any library have any history i tried carl chinn and clare short but still hoping thanks keep well mary de-loyde
 
ragdoll

I suppose you have seen this book, Q.E. Nurse 1938 - 1957. Amazon Books are selling it. But at the moment they are out of stock. It is published by Brewin Books and edited by Collette Clifford


As they are out of stock at the moment, I am sure your local library could get hold of a copy for you, its much cheaper that way as well. I have not read it, but I have no doubt it would quote other sources of information on the years that you require.

Phil
 
many thanks for book title i will be after it tomorrow mary de
 
mikejee said:
How things changed. I can remember , probably about 1973, posters all around selly oak and the area advertising a band called VD Clinic !
Mike
Click to expand...

Hi Mike

Just a thought, - I wonder if , unlike other bands whose fans would
scream, -their fans would clap:)

Kind regards

Dave
 
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