A ward at the former infirmary. Photo-credit-George Marshall Medical Museum
Hello readers, my name is George Birtwhistle, I am a 15-year-old school student from Christopher Whitehead who at the time of writing this lovely blog (If I am to toot my own horn) is currently working through my work experience at the Charles Hastings and George Marshall Medical museums in Worcester and by God has it been an incredible experience.
Over the course of this wonderful week I have been educated of the history of the royal infirmary of Worcester and the former Powick mental hospital which shut its doors for the final time in 1989 after well over a century of service under its belt.
My Work experience began when I interviewed a former nurse who worked at Powick called Ken Krum (I think that’s how it’s spelled at least) who told me of the remarkability of the hospital and the patients themselves, while the 1968 documentary on the Hospital (Notably ward F-13 where the elderly female patients where neglected and mistreated until they could do naught but vegetate until their lives were finally snuffed out ) does show a negative side of the establishment, Ken told me of all of the good the hospital had done for the patients and the doctors who worked there.
Did you know that many of the Doctors live on the grounds of the hospital? Or that on every Friday night the patients would have balls in a large ballroom as a way to help them recover from whatever ailment they suffered from? Or that Sir Edward Elgar would conduct the music to the balls? The lives of the patients were usually very happy and they would often be able to leave after a few months within the hospital and even to those who would stay for years and even decades they would still see it as home.
A ward at the former infirmary. Photo-Credit- George Marshall Medical Museum
Then I was brought to the incredible Infirmary medical museum where there I would receive an interesting tour of the premises, it was an amazing experience and deeply fascinating as I learned about the building itself, it’s founders and even of the supposed ghost who haunts it.
I also was able to handle some extremely old and fascinating medicinal tools that were used by doctors throughout the 20th and 19th centuries (Even some bizarre stuff such as Uterine Dilators which were particularly yucky) but ultimately it was a very fun activity and hopefully in the future I’ll be able to do more of it because even if I don’t know what the tools or objects are…I’m a little goblin when it comes to history and that includes medical history and I doubt that I’m the only one out there, which is why I recommend the museums to everyone in the area if you’re interested in how medicine has developed over the years, they have everything from the inspiring to the depressing and from the tame to the grizzly. Come one, come all!
Photo-Credit- George Marshall Medical Museum
But back to me, I have done a lot of cool stuff over the course of the week and I’m sure you’ll be wondering whether or not there’s anything negative I can point out I can say that I don’t recommend doing any of the above when you have a cold, it’s obvious but hey…I’m recovering from on as I type this and believe me…Worrying about sneezing, coughing or spluttering on centuries old objects isn’t exactly an ideal pastime.
Well no matter what, It was still an incredible experience and I’m sure that you like I will learn a great deal of medicine and how it’s progressed over the centuries, from the Renaissance to the modern day, I bid you good luck and a good day