Jump to content

The old Northern General Hospital


Recommended Posts

Hi. It was Sister Green on ward 16. Remember Sr Russ on ward 17 very well. She used to let us eat left over meals hidden away in the pantry!!!
Yes - Sister Green, a lovely person. There was also the rather eccentric auxiliary on 16, Miss Shand (who lived to the ripe old age of 92) and a feisty cleaner, Mrs Duke. The orderly on 17, Mrs Spencer, was a big, buxom Jamaican whom everyone loved - she was the life and soul of the ward. Herbert Pratt (charge nurse, 6B) didn't bother to hide meals in the pantry - he used to order his favourite meal and enjoy it in his office...:P Edited by hillsbro
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you remember Nurse Drabble (male)? Is Dr. Bruce Smith still around I wonder? Thanks for the picture. Don't remember anyone in it, but a lovely picture all the same :)
I don't think I knew a Drabble; male nurses were "thin on the ground" but the names Midgley (S.E.N.), David Parr (charge nurse) and Roger Freer (staff nurse) spring to mind, though there weren't many in 1971-72. At Christmas 1971 I got dressed up as Santa Claus in a well-padded red coat (nowadays I wouldn't need so much padding) and cotton-wool beard and gave presents to the kids with a Ho! Ho! Ho!..:)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi jennybongo - I was a student nurse at the Northern General in the early 1970s. The hospital is so much bigger now that whenever I go there I get lost. When I was there, the children's wards were in the upper part of the grounds. As far as I can tell from the "multimap" aerial view the two single-storey buildings are still there, now surrounded by newer buildings but I don't know what they are used for now. Ward 16 was for children between the ages of about 1 and 10, and Ward 17 had a 10-cubicle nursery for babies, and also took 10 to 16 year-olds. I spent three months on Ward 17 and a month on nights mostly on Ward 16. There would obviously have been staff changes by the late 1970s but when I was there, Sister Russ was in charge of Ward 17. Maria Russ [1927-1988] was a large, tough, no-nonsense Yugoslav who ran the ward with efficient discipline and certainly knew her stuff - one of the best sisters I ever worked for. Dr Heggarty was the paediatrician whom we saw most of - an excellent doctor. Here is a photo, taken with Ward 17 behind the group - I am easy to spot! I am standing behind our tutor, Mary Peddle - a wonderful, warm-hearted person, if somewhat scatterbrained...

 

Sister Russ openly encouraged nurses to eat any left over food at mealtimes - rumour had it that as a young woman in war torn Yugoslavia she and her family were near starvation and so she couldn't bare to see any food being thrown away.

I too remember back to the childrens wards in the late 1970's but with less fondness - I remember the cockroaches and mice that used to run around the wards at night !

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Daven - I never saw any mice but the place was certainly overrun with cockroaches; I must have accounted for quite a few while on night duty. Sister Russ would occasionally tell us about her wartime experiences, and once when her sister Anna was visiting from Austria she spent a day on the ward. I remember the two of them were chatting in German until they realised I could understand - then they switched to Serbo-Croat!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi willybite - yes, I seem to remember some of the older nurses telling me about a Dr Blaco Yates but clearly it was before my time at the N.G.H. It's nice to have your good opinion of the staff there, Nigel. I also had a short stay there in 2004 and I thought the staff were excellent.

 

I believe that a Blaco Yates, spelling, was Chairman of Sheffield United in the 60's ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Carruthers - after a bit of Googling I found several references to a Dr H. Blacow Yates who was a senior consultant surgeon in Sheffield, and was also Chairman of Sheffield United. See here for an obituary (scroll down to the second page).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember a few names from the 70s

David Parr 5A. He had a sister who was a staff nurse.

Herbert Pratt 6B

Sr Callear 6A

Sr Baines 9A

Sr Coverdale 12

FO'G and Annie ? and the dog he used to take all over

Miss Bronks

Phil and Janet Norcliffe

The terrible trio of Sr Hole, Sr Danks and Sr ? in A&E

Mr Lunt who used to leave his patients in tears he could be so nasty

What was the name of the C/N on 4A (? Mick Fines)...he was nice

Edited by xfox3x
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.