Hi my name is Richie Durie and I am a student at Prince Henry's High School and I have been working here on a week’s long work experience. I have been working at Charles Hastings Education Centre and Worcestershire Royal Hospital in the library, Medico-Legal team, Learning and Development and the Museum. Firstly I would like to thank everybody I worked with for such a great and helpful experience with my time here.
On my first day I spent the day in the library expecting to be as bored as anything, however thanks to David I enjoyed my time thoroughly and the work he set me was enjoyable. The next day I went to the Alexandra hospital to work with the medic-legal team, with which I was unsure of what they did and I was intrigued to find out and learn from them. Jane was fantastic, with not only explaining what she does and explaining the role of her team she tried her best to help me understand it and I would like to thank her and her team for that! After a successful first two days, on the Wednesday I went back to the library to work with Dianne and David again and yet did some different work and I was still entertained and eager! I would like to thank again Dianne and David for my time in the library. On the Thursday I worked with the Museum in the morning which was truly fascinating in itself and Louise asked if I could help her with the talk and tour she gave to the school which visited. I learned a lot about all the different treasures and old medical equipment and the working life around it. All the jobs are fascinating and are all spikes in my interest. And in the afternoon I spent my time with Jane on the front desk handling the stressful, busy ad useful jobs that are needed to keep this place running smoothly!
The amount of work and effort needed to do that is immense and I respect Jane for working so hard and still stay positive and enjoy herself! Friday morning I was back in the museum designing the worksheet shown in this picture- used for the children in the backpacks for the children to walk round. And after doing that I am currently writing this! I would like the thank Louise a lot for what she has taught me and the opportunity she has given me!
Overall I have had a fabulous time here and would like to thank everybody involved who have helped me, and allowed me to work here!
What's On In Worcester (September 2018)
Medical Electronics - introduction. Guest Blog Nigel Adams
Hello everyone,
My name is Nigel Adams and would like to welcome you to an occasional series of blogs covering historical medical electronics , specifically from the Marconi Company.
My background is that I joined Marconi Instruments as an apprenticed engineer in 1975 and remained with the company in various roles until its sale when the breakup of GEC (the Marconi holding company) occurred in 1998.
The business went through a number of ups and downs as do many similar industries and is now American-owned and no longer directly in the same sphere of business. But the history of the company as Marconi Instruments is a fascinating and varied journey through electronics development and how it impacted the way we lived and its effect on the environment through the years following the Second World War.
By way of introduction and to ‘set the scene’ so to speak, this first blog will look at the history of the company and its involvement on all forms of electronics that have been developed up to the time when the company ceased to exist as an operating identity.
Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian engineer with a flair for physics and scientific development, his early experiments with radio transmission gained him recognition in many scientific fields. Unfortunately he was unable to obtain sufficient support from the Italian government of the time and then relocated to Great Britain where he went on to establish the ‘Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company’ (MWT) around 1920 and headquartered in Chelmsford, Essex.
As the MWT business expanded, it required specialist test and measurement equipment to assist in production of its radio systems, additionally Marconi established a marine division that went on to specialise in Radar and other navigational electronic aids.
One of Marconi’s early claims to fame was the installation of his radio system onboard the RMS Titanic, which proved valuable in helping save some of the many lives from the stricken liner when it struck the iceberg in 1912.
Marconi himself continued research into shorter and shorter radio waves and ventured into further development of radar and X-ray technology until his death in 1937. As a mark of respect for his genius, all radio stations around the world closed down for a short period and the ether was as quiet as it had been before.
From this expansion was born Marconi Instruments in 1936, which previously, had collaborated with E.K. Cole of Southend on Sea who manufactured domestic radios amongst other items.
With the onset of WW2, the business was considered at risk of bombing, being so close to the east coast.
In a single weekend the business relocated initially to High Wycombe and then settling permanently in St.Albans around 1940, where it became the largest single employer.
Marconi Instruments remained in St.Albans until 1990, at one point occupying three separate sites at the same time. It was here that one of the product ranges ventured into the realm of medical equipment, and so the story begins…
For further reading about Marconi’s early life and his business developments, please see reference material at the George Marshall Medical Museum.
References.
What do you know about Laparoscopy?
My name is Jack Morris and I have been working at The Infirmary Museum for my Year 10 Work Experience, It has been very exciting to have worked in such a great museum; I have been very interested in learning the museum's great history and hope to learn more in the future.
New donation of laparoscopy machine to George Marshall Medical Museum
Laparoscopy machine on loan from NHS Worcestershire on whhich first keyhole surgery was done in 1990
A topic that I would like to discuss about today is that of Laparoscopy, also known as Keyhole surgery, as the first keyhole surgery in Worcester took place on the 21st September 1990 at Worcester Royal Infirmary, 12 years before I was born! It's very interesting learning of this type of surgery as it shows yet more on the evolution of surgery, such as shorter recovery times due to the smaller incision needed to be cut into the body, meaning the patient doesn’t need to grow back as much tissue as in an open surgery that has a larger incision.
Laparoscopy operation in the abdomen
Also, recently, due to a generous donation, a laparoscopy machine has come into the possession of the George Marshall Medical Museum, which is a slightly newer model than the one possessed by The Infirmary Museum but can still be used to show the evolution of medicine through time and how it has progressed to make such operations more effective and safe. These Laparoscopy machines are usually used for procedures such as gynaecology (treatment of the female reproductive system), gastroenterology (treating conditions in the digestive system), and urology (treating conditions in the urinary system). Surgeons use these machines along with general anaesthetic, they cut small holes usually near the belly button and use a laparoscope to view the inside of the body to either treat an illness or to identify one such as cancer in the liver, pancreas, ovaries etc., along side a pair of forceps to treat said illnesses, more information about Laparoscopy can be found at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/laparoscopy/.
Another useful part about Laparoscopy is that due to the small incisions that will be blocked up with the forcep and laparoscope they can pump the abdomen full of gas so that it can increase visibility within the abdomen and decrease the chance of then hitting or scraping any other organs within the abdomen, however it does give the patient a bloated belly as a side effect for the couple of hours after the surgery as well as cramps and shoulder pains as it can irritate the diaphragm with will then lead to this irritating the nerve endings in the shoulders.
Robotic assisted laparoscopy operation
Also, after the procedure has been completed the recovery time is far shorter than standard surgery but it depends on the type of surgery. As a minor surgery such as appendix removal has a recovery time of roughly 2 weeks where as more major surgeries such as the removal of ovaries or kidneys due to cancer has a recovery time of up to 12 weeks. And a more recent development in the evolution of the surgery is the use of Robotic-assisted Laparoscopy, A doctor will use a pair of robotic limbs to have an increased amount of precision and manoeuvrability as well as producing a larger higher quality 3D image for the surgeons to use.
And if laparoscopy interests you then you can use the laparoscopy machine inside of The Infirmary Museum and experience what it is like to carry out a laparoscopic procedure, or you could come to the Surgeon’s Circus on the 30th July to the 2nd August - 10am to 2pm - and try to do other things with a pair of forceps. Like guiding a small rubber ring around a wire or placing small balls onto little poles, to practise your surgery skills. Fun for all the family, book your free place at www.bit.ly/TheInfirmaryTickets
It has been a great place to be working and the history behind this building is fascinating, and the fun and exciting events that are put on here express all the history of this building that many people were born and/or treated in. It is a great museum with an abundance of history, that I feel everyone should experience.
Jack Morris
Year 10 student, Droitwich Spa High School