Do you remember the Peterkin ward of Ross Memorial Hospital?
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THE father and son medics behind a fascinating book charting the history of hospitals in Ross-shire have issued an appeal to the public to help celebrate one of the best-loved as it marks a milestone.
Jim and Steve Leslie are planning a small poster exhibition to mark 150 years of the Ross Memorial in Dingwall.
They are interested in uncovering any old pictures of the hospital and, in particular, are interested in the Peterkin ward in the late 1940s.
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They are looking at creating posters to display in the outpatients waiting area of the hospital.
Dr Jim Leslie said: “I’m struggling to find a picture of the original Peterkin Maternity Home which was opened on 23 July 1946. There seems to be a fairly strong interest locally in the Ross Memorial’s history.”
Dingwall Museum itself has already sold almost 40 copies of their book, The Hospitals of Ross and Cromarty, all the proceeds of which will go to the museum.
The Ross Memorial is the county’s oldest and the fourth oldest general hospital in Highland after Inverness’s RNI, Nairn Town and County and the Belford in Fort William.
It is, say the authors, an excellent example of a Victorian voluntary hospital.
Funds were raised to mark the passing of a prominent local doctor – Dr Ross of Dunglass who died in 1869 – and the money collected became the core of the capital required to build the hospital.
Prominent local people were the instigators. They formed a committee with Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord Lieutenant and notable land owner, in the chair and, with the able direction of local doctor William Bruce, built a small hospital so well designed that its plan was highlighted by Sir Henry Burdett as an example in his book on hospital design in the UK.
The committee asked for subscribers and many responded with annual subscriptions, donations and legacies so that the hospital became financially viable and, with consistent support from the community, remained so for the next 76 years until the NHS took over.
The proceeds from such events as whist drives, dances, football matches, concerts and also regular donations of produce – game, jam, flowers, newspapers and so on – were donated year after year.
Local people acted as trustees and the committee continued to prudently manage the hospital over the years with local doctors giving their services free, a part-time treasurer and secretary and an active ‘ladies committee’ which oversaw the day to day running of the hospital by the matron and her small team.
It is also a reminder of how a relatively small community with sustained and positive focus can keep an essential service running from its own resources and hard work, the authors state.
A history of the Ross Memorial, along with the other hospitals in the county, has recently been published. The Hospitals of Ross and Cromarty presents the stories of the Ross Memorial, the Cromarty Cottage Hospital, the Seaforth Sanatorium, the Nicolson Mackenzie Hospital, Arthurville, Ness House, Invergordon Hospital and several others. It is available from the museums in Dingwall, Cromarty, Tain, Invergordon and Gairloch and from Nairn Bookshop.
It is also available by post from Old Manse Books at 16 Southside Place, Inverness or via the History of Highland Hospitals website at www.historyofhighlandhospitals.com.
It is in A5 format with 262 pages with many illustrations and costs £4.
If anyone would be interested in sharing images please contact Steve or Jim at stephen.leslie@nhs.scot or jimleslie1@outlook.com
