During the past 6 months I have had several hospital admissions, which made me cast my mind back to hospitals from the past 50 years or so. Healthcare has changed dramatically over my lifetime and these are some of my observations.

Aunt Ruby as a trainee nurse

Hospital food had a dreadful reputation and many patients refused to eat the meals which were overcooked, watery and often congealed on the plate. Today’s patients are given a menu list of selections to suit all tastes and heath requirements and can even order a glass of wine or beer.

Syringes were made of glass, and both the syringe and the needles were cleaned, sharpened and autoclaved for sterility by nurses. Today’s syringes are made of plastic and both the syringe and the needles are made to be used once and then thrown out. There are even special syringes for taking blood that contain a vacuum, which greatly assists in this procedure.

Bedpans were made of stainless steel, flushed after patient use and then placed in a machine which hygienically washed out the pan and steamed it, ready to be placed on the pan rack for the next patient. Today’s bed pans are made of papier mache and are designed for one use before being  thrown out.

Dressing trays were made of stainless steel, draped with sterile cotton drapes and set with steel gallipots, kidney dishes and instruments such as forceps, scalpel handles and scissors. Today’s dressing trays are made of plastic, with paper drapes and plastic instruments and are designed to be used once and then thrown out.

Hospital beds were made out of cast iron, with a back rest which was pulled out and then screwed into place by the nurse. To elevate the head or foot of the bed involved propping the bed legs on a wooden block and the beds were high to prevent backache for the nursing staff. Today’s electronic beds contain 3 segments which can individually move up or down at the press of a button, and lowered to suit each patient’s needs.

Have you ever been in hospital? How old were you and what do you remember about your hospital stay?

Perhaps you were a nurse and have some wonderful stories of your nursing days – I know I have and my family are urging me to write down these stories of a different era in medical care, which they now find difficult to imagine.

When you are writing your stories, don’t forget to add how you received any surgical scars – perhaps you fell out of a tree or maybe you had a sporting injury or war wound? Behind every scar lies a story!

I have shared some of my ‘then and now’ hospital observations with you and I’d love to hear about your hospital experiences.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Aunt Ruby Remembers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.