The original caption may contain language which is historic and which may no longer be considered appropriate. It has been retained in the record in the interest of historical accuracy.
The caption on the reverse of the photograph reads: “The assistant nurse and the care of the chronic sick. Picture shows Grannie learning to walk after hemiplegia.”
In 1917, the workhouse at Orsett became the Orsett Lodge Hospital, and in 1930 it was an institution for the elderly chronically sick, with 200 beds. During the Second World War, the hospital was part of the Emergency Medical Service and the majority of the elderly patients were evacuated, though 23 remained. Prior to the 1930s, elderly patients were largely cared for in hospitals which were formerly poor law institutions, which had low levels of staffing and often inadequate facilities. These provided ‘guardianship’, rather than active treatment and research. The first organised geriatric unit in the United Kingdom was established at West Middlesex Hospital in 1935, and in the 1940s the specialist care of elderly patients was advocated. In 1940, Dr Lionel Cosin became the hospital’s medical superintendent, having been relocated to Orsett as a general surgeon, due to the dispersal of London’s teaching hospitals. Cosin was a pioneer of geriatric care, ensuring patients had “the optimum chance of enjoying even limited activity and independence”, and advocated for physiotherapy, rehabilitation, and active nursing of patients. See also MED01/01/2740-2747 and MED01/01/2749-2752. High-resolution copies of this image are available for free for non-commercial use. Please Enquire to place an order.
This is part of the Series: MED01/01 Series of prints; within the Collection: MED01 Topical Press Agency Medical Collection
Source: Historic England Archive
Photographer: Topical Press Agency Limited
Photographer: Harrison, Norman Kingsley
Geriatric Hospital, Hospital Ward, People At Work, Women's History, Health And Welfare
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