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

Can you help us catch some Spanish Influenza history?

On  11th November 1918, the day that church bells were rung across the nation in celebration of the end of War, countless families were nursing their relatives or mourning the loss of those close to them, having caught the dreaded Spanish ‘flu.        No-one was safe from the Influenza Pandemic. It reared its head in the Spring of 1918, with outbreaks coming in waves. It swept the globe claiming around 25 million lives in under 12 months - more people than were killed fighting in the War.

In the closing months of War, Private John Sydney Cull of Badsey, near Evesham, was serving in the Worcester Yeomanry in Mesopotamia. He had written a letter to his family on 9th October informing them of fatal incidences of the ‘flu in his battalion – fortunately, he told them, he was in the best of health. On 11th November his family should have been celebrating news of his homecoming, but instead they received a letter notifying them of his death – from Spanish ‘Flu. He died aged 27.

While media attention and history books have focused on the victorious end to the War, the tragedy of the Spanish ‘Flu has been wiped from our collective memory. The George Marshall Medical Museum is hosting a touring exhibition of the Florence Nightingale Museum's Influenza Pandemic Exhibition during 2019. Laura Mainwaring, our British Society for the History of Science Engagement Fellow, is working to add local content to the exhibition to inform and engage the local community on one of the deadliest pandemics in human history.

Have any stories been passed down to you about relatives that were affected by the ‘flu pandemic of 1918/1919? We are looking for diaries, letters, recipe books, or anecdotes from relatives, focusing on the Worcestershire area.

It would be great to hear your story. Email lm357@le.ac.uk or tel. 01905 760738.

First Week Adventures

Hello! My name is Savannah McMullen. I'm from Washington, DC. I recently began my two-month work placement at Worcester’s Medical Museums as part of my Masters in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester. Here are my thoughts after my first week:

I have been thoroughly enjoying becoming rapidly acquainted with a new educational system, an unfamiliar theme of history, and an age group of students that I have no experience with. I have minimal background knowledge in the various levels of UK educational qualifications, or in medical history, so I have been reading for general knowledge (and quickly googling everything else). Teaching teens… you can only learn by jumping in the deep end headfirst. Wish me luck! It is a challenge trying to catch up, but it is incredibly exciting. These challenges are the reason I chose this placement. I also wanted to work at a small museum because of the diversity of experience you get when working with a small team. But in a museum like this, you also learn a lot from experiences that you did not anticipate having when you first applied for a placement here. Already, in my first week, I gave a spontaneous tour of the Infirmary to two visually-impaired visitors; guided a group of teenagers through the gallery at the GMMM and discussed with them the ethics of testing the first vaccine on a child; mastered a 3D body replica puzzle; and assisted in a workshop in which I played the role of Dr. Robert Liston, a surgeon famous for his speedy amputations before the advent of anaesthetics.  I cannot wait to see what the next few weeks here have in store for me.

I am already so thankful to Mark and Louise for being so willing and eager for me to get involved in whatever aspect of their work sparks my interest. I hope to assist them in planning, marketing, and executing the museums’ special events, in addition to my planned contributions to the museums’ educational offerings. They have encouraged me to ask whatever questions I want and trusted me, and my skills, enough to give me important responsibilities and leadership opportunities. We have also become fast friends—much appreciated, since I moved to Worcester sight unseen and knowing no one! I felt welcomed and appreciated immediately.

P.S.—Mark said I had to have had a negative experience last week, so I’ll just say that I desperately wish the Infirmary was air-conditioned.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NHS 5 July 1947 The Appointed Day

The Appointed Day

The Beginnings of the National Health Service in Worcestershire

A short history of how the National Health Service affected the Worcester Royal Infirmary Anastasia Maria Ciccocioppo an ERASMUS+ student of University of Bologna who spent the 2017 summer with The Infirmary and George Marshall Medical Museum on research projects.

Final meeting of Worcester Royal Infirmary General Committee, December 1948 in Berrows Journal. ©Charles Hastings Education Centre

It is common today when talking about health to think of the services available to us being obvious and guaranteed. But, as you can imagine, these modern-day expectations of healthcare were not clearly conceptualized at the time a national service was being contemplated.

When did things change? How did they change and why?  The “appointed day” or the day that would change the way medical care was organized in the United Kingdom was to be 5th July 1948, and next summer Worcester’s Medical Museums will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the NHS foundation.

Looking  back to November, 1946, the war has just ended, hospitals are sending home the last wounded from abroad and Minister Aneurin Bevan is ready to issue the National Health Service Act. 

The plans of the Minister in his political battle for a suitable and efficient health system called for one solution only:  a universal and simplified access to primary healthcare.

Analysis of expenditure, 1950-51 in South Worcestershire region. ©Charles Hastings Education Centre

When in his book, “The Birth of Clinic", the social theorist, Michel Foucault said that “The first task of the doctor is ... political:  the struggle against disease must begin with a war against bad government.” he might have been thinking of a situation such as the one in Britain, post war.

Many doctors initially disagreed with the idea of a NHS and openly beseeched the minister to take a step back when a choice still seemed a possibility, and overstated their case that “some doctors appear unable to recognize the danger resulting from this loss of liberty...”

The sentiment in Worcestershire did not differ from the one of fear felt nationally and this was especially evident when, in regard to a circular announcing the passage of the Infirmary’s administration to the Regional Hospital Board in Birmingham, it was unanimously moved by the last Management Committee that the circular lie on the table, as a sign of protest!

This scene, that at first might appear amusing, powerfully demonstrates the sentiment of disagreement present at the time.

From 5th July 1948, the newborn South Worcestershire Hospital Management Committee, appointed by the Regional Board, would have had as its headquarters at the Royal Infirmary, becoming responsible for a large group of hospitals. Figure 2 shows analysis of expenditure 1950-51 in region’s hospitals under the Committee’s control.

Allocation of beds according to specialty, 1950 & 1951. ©Charles Hastings Education Centre

The apprehension felt by the Management Committee in Worcestershire is understandable; they became the nerve centre for healthcare, taking control of over 2000 beds in the County and more than 1000 of them for mentally ill patients.

Anastasia Maria Ciccocioppo