On 5th July 2018 the NHS celebrates its 70th birthday. To mark the occasion we worked with the Cambridge Independent newspaper to produce articles, spread over seven weeks looking at each decade to examine how Cambridge University Hospitals – incorporating Addenbrooke’s and The Rosie Hospitals – developed into the world-famous organisation it is today. Today we explore 1968-1977
NHS@70 1958-1967
On 5th July 2018 the NHS celebrates its 70th birthday. To mark the occasion we worked with the Cambridge Independent newspaper to produce articles, spread over seven weeks looking at each decade to examine how Cambridge University Hospitals – incorporating Addenbrooke’s and The Rosie Hospitals – developed into the world-famous organisation it is today. Today we explore 1958-1967
NHS@70 1948-1957
Today 5 July 2018 the NHS celebrates its 70th birthday. To mark the occasion we worked with the Cambridge Independent newspaper to produce articles, spread over seven weeks looking at each decade to examine how Cambridge University Hospitals – incorporating Addenbrooke’s and The Rosie Hospitals – developed into the world-famous organisation it is today. Over the next week I will reproduce …
Rosie Ward Names
A few weeks ago I wrote about some of the ward names at Old Addenbrooke’s. As I am sure most of your know the wards at the ‘new site’ do not have names, but the first four wards at the Rosie did. The Rosie was built on three floors with four wards each having 26 …
Lewin Stroke & Rehabilitation Unit
Recently I had a friend who had a member of her family with a head injury and had to make use of the Lewin Rehabilitation Unit. She wondered why it was called Lewin, I was able to tell her that the Unit is named after, Mr Walpole S Lewin (1915-1980) a consultant neurosurgeon working in …
Waterloo and Addenbrooke’s
The 18th June is the anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. While carrying out some research recently I came across this entry in the minutes of the Weekly Meeting of the Governors on 27 July 1818: ‘Wm Ford a distressed patient and a Waterloo man this day discharged from the Hospital was relieved with 10s …
Expansion of the Hospital
A few weeks ago I wrote about the suggested improvements to the original hospital in 1860. Matthew Digby Wyatt had been appointed architect for the work in early 1863, but his proposed plans were rejected at the next General Quarterly Court. They wanted the Building Committee ‘to consider whether it is practicable to build a …
Dr John Addenbrooke
Today the 8th June is the anniversary of the death Dr John Addenbrooke, the founder of Addenbrooke’s Hospital. He died in 1719 at the age of 39 at his home in Buntingford. Not much is known about Addenbrooke himself, but there is a description of him written by his servant, Mary Collis, she said he …
The introduction of Anaesthesia at Addenbrooke’s
The first successful public administration of ether for a surgical operation was in Boston, USA on 16 October 1846, within weeks it was being used in London, so when was the first use of anaesthetics at Addenbrooke’s? As we do not have any patient case notes for that time, I thought the best place to …
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Water, drains and the laundry
Water, drains and the laundry have been regular items in the Hospital Minute Books and here are a few of some interesting ones: 30 October 1856: Agreed to introduce the water from the Cambridge Waterworks Co. but the pump in the laundry not to be interfered with, being ‘peculiarly good for drinking purposes’. 1 June …
