By Wilfrid Edgecombe, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.S.
The history of the Harrogate and District General
Hospital
On September 3rd, 1926, the foundation stone of the new hospital
was laid by HRH. Princess Mary (now the Princess Royal). The
occasion was a full dress affair terminating with a mayoral luncheon
attended by a hundred guests.
But in spite of this fait accompli efforts were made by opponents
of the scheme to upset it and revert to the Belvedere site.
Memoranda were submitted by Mr Lomas Walker and by Mr J L Kirby, and
disapproval was expressed by Mr Sheepshanks and Captain Whitworth,
who had offered an alternative site in Leeds Road.
It was not until March, 1927, that the matter was clinched by a
strong letter from the president, Captain Greenwood, condemning the
Leeds Road site and offering the Knaresborough Road site as a free
gift. Following this, Captain Whitworth resigned from the building
committee.
Then followed prolonged discussion as to the nature and extent of
the plans for the hospital and the means whereby they could be
financed. As has been said, the architects' original estimate of
£74,000, for a hospital of 120 beds, was cut down to £42,000 to
provide 50 beds as a first stage - subsequent additions to be made
later as finances permitted. A tender of £37,252 from Messrs
Shepherd was accepted and the work began. By 1930 the first stage
was completed at a cost of £41,640 providing 46 beds.
In 1927, on the resignation of Mr A W Bain, Mr H Frankling, the
senior surgeon, was appointed chairman of the board of management, a
position he held until his retirement in 1932.
The number of in-patients in 1927 was 1,041, and of out-patients
4,743, and the income for the year was £12,324 - thus already
approaching the £12,500 forecast as the maximum obtainable. Of this
the Contributory Scheme furnished £4,790. The year 1928 saw the
inception of the scheme by the National Council of Women to provide
funds for the building of a maternity unit in the new hospital. This
culminated in the laying of the foundation stone by Lady
Lawson-Tancred in November, 1936. and the completion of the building
in 1937 when it was formally opened by HRH. The Princess Royal. The
total cost of the building and furnishing was £12,589, of which the
National Council of Women provided £5,020 - a magnificent gesture on
their part.
In 1928 it was found necessary, owing to the increase in the
amount of work, to appoint a second house surgeon, and an ambulance
was bought for the use of the hospital at a cost of £960. There was
more progress in the following year. A fund raised by Mr Frankling
from private voluntary subscription for the purchase of radium
reached the required £1,500. The radium continued to be used to the
great advantage of patients until the advent of the National Health
Service, when it was ordained by the authorities that all radium
used in outlying hospitals must be withdrawn and centered in Leeds.
Hence, all cases requiring radium treatment must now be sent to
Leeds.
Dr Curtis Bain, who was appointed physician to out-patients in
1924, was promoted to full physician in 1929, a post which he still
holds in 1958. The matron, Miss Horton, resigned after 19 years'
service, and was granted an annuity of £100. Miss G Lingwood was
appointed in her place at a salary of £160.
At the end of 1930 it was found necessary to increase the
resident medical staff by the appointment of a house physician in
addition to the existing two house surgeons.
On the completion of the first stage of the hospital
construction, which provided for 46 beds which were used for medical
cases and convalescent surgical cases from the old infirmary, plans
were drawn up for the extension to 114 beds and ultimately to 140
beds, including the building of an operating theatre, an
out-patient department, an isolation unit and a nurses' home. The
Ladies' Linen League presented £815 to aid in the purchase of
equipment for the new hospital; another of their munificent
contributions.
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