Local history is clearly of great interest to many – medical history also has its enthusiasts, although perhaps more academic or professional people on the whole? Books have been written on various specialised aspects of Poole’s local history eg a history of its railways, its Quay and its High Street. But a health history for a town? How to present such a thing? Well this is an attempt to do so, hopefully in interesting chunks. Not in any order – just individual reports. Not too seriously either – there will be room for the doctor who spoke out against spring cleaning and the notion of the brewery hospital!
A history concerning health for a local area is usually available only through accounts of the origin and development of individual hospitals, or perhaps stories of grisly epidemics.Once just appearing as printed publications, they have been developed as websites. There is a wonderful example for Dorset County Hospital. But Poole is curiously lacking, for now at least, of even published histories of its hospitals. It only takes a quick look at newspaper files to see that there have always been plenty of stories reported about the hospitals and other health matters, and the further back you go the stranger it all seems. Whilst the local history books about Poole briefly discuss the epidemics, the poor public health of the Victorian town, and some of the history of Poole Hospital, there is much more though, and this should be recorded.
Most of the documented history is, of course, relatively recent. Inevitably this site will concentrate on the many developments of the last 150 years, with the occasional glance further back to apothecaries, barber surgeons, early vaccinations, pest houses and plagues. As the major health institution in the t0wn, Poole Hospital will feature heavily – from its early days as Cornelia Cottage Hospital to its current high-tech services. The annual reports for Cornelia also provide much detail on the types of patien
ts, their conditions, and the generous donors to the hospital. The history of Poole’s other hospitals, whether NHS, private, or voluntary will, of course, also require attention.
The work of the Medical Officers of Health is central in providing for the public health of the town and in raising standards of health of its people. Their reports also provide information on the town’s vital statistics – death rates, incidence of diseases such as cholera, and the beginnings of health visiting. There are also health institutions long faded from memory, such as the open-air TB sanatorium and the Tallerman Institute. The workhouse infirmary was of great importance in total provision, even if people didn’t want to go there. The Baiter Hospital sited on the very edge of the harbour was a remarkable story, from even before its foundation, when a floating isolation hospital was being proposed. Alderney Hospital was the isolation hospital that bore the brunt of the 1936 typhoid epidemic that hit the area. General practice has its own specific history, both before and after the advent of the NHS. The provision for the mentally ill at St Ann’s came from quite a strange starting point – in Surrey! Services for the learning disabled started out with “imbecile nurses” in the workhouse, but have led to places such as Ashmore House. These all deserve their place in the history.
Patients themselves will mostly have to remain anonymous. However, the individuals who have played significant roles influencing the health of local people will need to feature heavily. Hospital matrons such as Nippard, Milne and Lambert, the married couple of Drs Robert and Laura Maule Horne, hospital architects such as the cricketing Walter Andrew, the prominent doctor who went into exile after a trial for procuring a miscarriage, philanthropists large and small – from Lady Wimborne and the Katz family to those who simply gave eggs to Cornelia Hospital, and administrators such as Ted Whitney, who ensured services were continually enhanced. The 19th century doctors such as Thomas Salter and Alfred Crabbe, draw attention to themselves, and provided the first examples of medical literature produced from Poole. There are celebrated names in the history as well, not just members of royalty opening hospitals, but also as patients. Poole Hospital’s League of Friends attracted some very famous people to speak at its annual meetings.
The years since the establishment of the NHS have seen a jungle of organisations concerning the management of healthcare in the town, all with arcane acronyms – HMC, AHA, FPC, DHA, CHC, DGH, FT, PCT, CCG. Might not get to them for a while! But long ago provision was also complicated by largely forgotten bodies such as the urban and rural sanitary authorities for Poole town and Poole port. Branksome for a while had its own council and its own Medical Officer of Health. Health services have always been provided by private practice and by charitable concerns, and of course continue to be today. Ambulance provision – from handcarts to modern vehicles staffed by highly trained paramedics – has its own story.
The two world wars strongly affected both the provision and development of health in Poole – the Red Cross wards and military patients in the First World War and the plans for hospital evacuation in the Second World War are quite remarkable. But what was the effect of earlier conflicts such as the Civil War?
The epidemiology of diseases in the locality can be followed through the literature. Typhoid, cholera, diphtheria and scarlet fever appear prominently, but diabetes for instance has also been studied, as has the safety of oysters from the harbour. Clinical advances have been marked by new professions such as radiographers, new specialties such as eating disorders, new technology such as scanners and robotic surgery– all part of Poole’s health history. Maternity care has been a special source of controversy over the years. Nurse training has been provided for over 100 years now in Poole – in varying ways and for varying qualifications. There have been health scares and scandals to be recalled.
This may take some time…
However it is clear that as a lot of the history concerns the last century or so, there will be people whose personal and family history have something to contribute to Poole’s health record. Comments will be gratefully received, especially if they can provide information or perhaps photographs that add to the history. Everything written here and anything received will be shared with the History Centre at Poole Museum.
Poole's Health Record 