大象传媒

We were a very busy hospital 鈥� the North Staffs. Royal Infirmary in Stoke-on-Trent. So if you were on the Surgical Ward you usually had patients going to theatre.

We had three theatres in the main hospital building and one theatre down at the other end of the hospital, which was used chiefly for orthop忙dics that needed to go over the corridor into X-ray after the operation was done.

We had a private block with its own theatre and we also had an Eye Block with its own theatre. We had this treatment list given by the Sister, we followed it and then we had to report back any treatments that we had done.

You had to accompany the patient to theatre. You took a bowl and a mouth gag and tongue-clip because they were so deeply anaesthetised. You stayed with them in the anaesthetic room then you got a message to go and fetch them back. They didn鈥檛 have any recovery rooms.

So you went on to surgical wards, medical wards, orthopaedic wards, you went on to the out-patient clinic, and casualty.

Our out-patient clinic was a very large one, and once a week they did the removal of tonsil and adenoids as out-patients. We had two rooms, with mattresses on the floor and we used to have about ten in each room. I dreaded it really; you鈥檇 have these children being brought in 鈥� and a nurse was stationed to look after them and as they came round from their anaesthetic, you can imagine it was quite a job.

We had this one ear nose and throat chap, who didn鈥檛 have a very nice temper. He used to throw things and used to shout 鈥渄uck鈥�. He was quite a good surgeon though.

This story was submitted to the People鈥檚 War site by Becky Barugh of the 大象传媒 Radio Shropshire CSV Action Desk on behalf of Patricia Davies and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

See more of Pat's stories:

• 1) I suppose it was inevitable鈥�
• 2) Getting used to being on the wards
• 3) The unchanging rota
• 4) Othopaedic Wards
• 5) The Miners
• 6) Keeping coffee warm in the sterilizer
• 8) Dear Flower Girl
• 9) Theatres
• 10) The Nurse鈥檚 Home
• 11) The 鈥楪uinea Pig Club鈥�
• 12) Mice in the washing and other tricks
• 13) Enamel washbowls on your heads
• 14) Extra Work
• 15) Shake and Shake鈥�
• 16) Little Nurse
• 17) A lot of things were introduced during the War
• 18) Only two nights off
• 19) Making and Breaking
• 20) My little bucket and I
• My visit to post-War Germany

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