THIS noble charity had its origin in the philanthropy of the medical men
of Worcester in the year 1745. It was first opened in a room in Silver
Street, and it was not for twenty years afterwards that the present
hospital was built, at an expense of upwards of £6,000. It has been
enlarged at various periods since that time, and is now capable of
accommodating 100 in-patients. The funded property of the institution
exceeds £27,000, and the annual subscriptions amount to upwards of
£1,200. The physicians and surgeons attached to the institution at the
beginning of the present century, were Dr. Johnstone, Dr. Seward, and Dr.
Mylne; Mr. Pennell Cole, Mr. Sandford, and Mr. Carden. The following are
minutes of the appointments which have since taken place, and of the more
important proceedings of the governors:
1800—JANUARY 31—Election of physician in the room of Dr. Johnstone, who
resigned. There were three candidates, and the choice of the subscribers
fell on Dr. Skey, who had 127 votes; Dr. Philip W. Wilson 108, and Dr.
Barnett 73.
1800—JUNE 27—At a quarterly meeting of the governors, it was ordered that
all legacies and benefactions amounting to or exceeding £50 be funded.
1801—AUGUST 7—In consequence of “the distressed state of the Infirmary
and the dearness of every article of provision,” the order respecting the
funding of £50 legacies was suspended.
1801—AUGUST 28—Dr. Barnett unanimously elected one of the physicians in
the room of Dr. Chambers, resigned.
1803—FEBRUARY 1—Dr. Philip W. Wilson unanimously elected in the room of
Dr. Skey, resigned.
1810—MARCH 30—It was ordered that the property of the institution, then
invested in the Three per Cents., should be transferred to the Four per
Cent. Government Annuities.
1812—JUNE 26—Ordered that in future the secretaries of the Infirmary
should give security, by bond, to the amount of £200, for the delivery of
all books and papers belonging to the Infirmary. This was in consequence
of the late secretary, Mr. Staples, having refused to give up the books,
and a dispute as to the balance due from him. The funds being very low
and inadequate to meet the expenses, the Bishop of the Diocese requested
the parochial clergy to make collections in their respective churches on
behalf of the institution, by which means £1,483 were added to the funds.
1812—OCTOBER 2—Mr. Charles Hastings elected house surgeon in the room of
Mr. Blower, resigned. Mr. Hastings had a competitor in the person of Mr.
James Lewis; and the votes were—for Mr. Hastings, 132; Mr. Lewis, 131.
1813—AUGUST 13—The number of patients which each subscriber was allowed
to recommend was limited to one patient for every guinea subscribed. The
high price of provisions was alleged as the reason for this step.
1814—AUGUST 30—Dr. G. Woodyatt elected physician on the resignation of
Dr. Barnett.
1815—JUNE 30—The order, limiting the number of patients, rescinded, and
the subscribers permitted to recommend two patients for each guinea
subscribed, as was the case previously. The medical officers were
requested to invite the rest of the faculty in Worcester to witness all
the more important operations.
1815—NOVEMBER 6—Election of surgeon: the office being vacant by the
retirement of Mr. Pennel Cole, Lord Somers proposed Mr. Thomas
Stephenson, who was seconded by Lord Beauchamp; Mr. Josiah Palmer
proposed Mr. J. P. Sheppard, seconded by Mr. Watson, Stourport; Hon. and
Rev. W. Jenkinson proposed Mr. Dangerfield, seconded by Dr. Cameron. The
result of the ballot showed for Mr. Stephenson, 335 votes; for Mr.
Sheppard, 238; and for Mr. Dangerfield, 135. The total polled was thus
708, or very nearly the then average number of subscribers.
1815—DECEMBER 29—Mr. Herbert Cole (son of Mr. Pennel Cole, for thirty
years one of the surgeons to the Worcester Infirmary) unanimously elected
as house surgeon of the institution in the place of Mr. Charles Hastings,
resigned.
1816—JANUARY—Sir William Smith, Bart., furnished the matron’s rooms at
his own cost.
1816—JULY 29—Dr. Lewis Evans elected a physician in the room of Dr.
Cameron, resigned.
1818—APRIL 20—At a large meeting of the governors, Dr. Philip W. Wilson
brought forward certain charges against his brother officers of the
medical staff, as to an operation which he alleged had been improperly
performed, but the charges were dismissed by the governors.
1818—APRIL 24—Dr. Philip W. Wilson retired from his post, as physician,
avowedly on the ground that his brother physicians and surgeons
constantly opposed the admission of others of the profession to witness
the operations they performed. Dr. Wilson’s letter to the public was
replied to by Mr. J. H. Savigny, who thought it undesirable that
infirmaries should be turned into theatres for display.
1818—OCTOBER 2—Ordered that, if the income arising from subscriptions and
funded property is insufficient to keep open two additional wards, then
first fitted up, a sum, not exceeding £200 annually, should be
appropriated for that purpose from such legacies as should be left to the
charity, and not specially directed to be vested in the funds.
1818—NOVEMBER 2—Jonas Malden, M.D., and Charles Hastings, M.D., were
appointed physicians in the place of Drs. Philip W. Wilson, and Louis
Evans, resigned.
1819—FEBRUARY 15—J. P. Sheppard, Esq., elected surgeon in the room of Mr.
Stephenson, resigned.
1819—Dispute amongst the medical men as to the treatment of surgical and
medical cases.
1819—APRIL—J. H. Savigny, Esq., took the office of secretary _pro. tem._,
in the place of Mr. Jackson, resigned.
1819—OCTOBER 29—Mr. Matthew Pierpoint appointed surgeon in the room of
Mr. Sandford, who resigned after twenty-seven years of most useful
service to this institution. Mr. Pierpoint was proposed by Lord
Deerhurst, and seconded by Mr. Sandford himself.
1820—JANUARY 12—A silver cup presented to Mr. Savigny for his various and
important services to the institution.
1823—APRIL—An additional wing erected in addition to the north end of the
Infirmary.
1823—JULY 26—Mr. John Eleox chosen secretary to the Infirmary, _vice_ J.
H. Savigny, Esq., resigned.
1824—APRIL 23—Dr. Lewis chosen physician in the room of Dr. Woodyatt,
deceased.
1826—NOVEMBER 6—Election of a physician in the room of Dr. Lewis,
resigned. The candidates were Dr. Nash, proposed by John Williams, Esq.,
and William Wall, Esq.; and Dr. Streeten, proposed by the Rev. Digby
Smith and Major Johnson. At the close of the ballot Dr. Nash was found
to have 298 votes, and Dr. Streeten 243—majority for Dr. Nash 55.
1827—MAY 8—The governors agreed to the erection of an operating room, and
other necessary offices, at an expense of £700.
1829—JUNE 5—Mr. T. H. Wheeler elected secretary, _vice_ Mr. Elcox,
resigned.
1829—JULY 27—Mr. T. Carden elected surgeon, _vice_ John Carden, Esq.,
resigned.
1830—JULY 2—The funded property of the institution, hitherto in different
stocks, was all transferred to the Three-and-a-half per Cents. Reduced.
1833—DECEMBER 27—At the quarterly meeting of the governors, Earl
Beauchamp in the chair, it was announced that £1,126 had been collected
for the institution during the last few months at different churches and
Dissenting chapels, which would pay off the debt of £550, due to the
treasurers, and enable them to get through the next twelve months without
touching the funded property. Mr. Gutch afterwards read a report of a
committee which had been appointed to inquire into the expenditure of the
institution which had, for a series of years, exceeded the income. They
admitted that there had been great abuses in various departments of the
institution, and especially as to the supply of drugs and chemicals, and
it was therefore recommended that a practical chemist should be appointed
on the drug committee, who, during his appointment, should be ineligible
to supply drugs. They recommended also that all legacies, above £100,
should be funded, with sundry other regulations. The report was
received, but it was determined not to publish the evidence upon which it
was founded, by a majority of 16 to 11.
1834—APRIL 4—At the quarterly meeting of the governors, a resolution,
determining that all legacies of £100 should be funded, was adopted; and
it was also resolved that the evidence taken respecting the
mal-administration of the drug department, should be referred to a select
committee.
1834—JUNE 27—It was determined to take counsel’s opinion as to the power
of the Corporation to renew the lease of ground on which the Infirmary
stood, as it belonged to Nash’s Charity. This matter had repeatedly been
under the attention of the governors, and at last it was found necessary
to obtain an Act of Parliament, in order to legalise the lease. The
sub-committee reported that no further investigation that could be made
into the irregularities which had taken place, and the discrepancy
between the amount of drugs ordered and consumed, would be satisfactory;
and so the matter finally dropped.
1838—AUGUST 16—Election of a surgeon, in the room of Mr. Thomas Carden,
deceased. There were no less than ten candidates, and a great deal of
interest was excited in the matter by peculiar circumstances attending
some of the candidates. John Williams, Esq., was called to preside over
the meeting, which was adjourned to the County Courts for the sake of
room. The chairman proposed Mr. Edward Morris, who was seconded by
William Acton, Esq.; Colonel Davis and Mr. Sidebottom proposed Mr. J. H.
Walsh; James Morton, Esq., and R. Spooner, Esq., proposed Mr. H. D.
Carden; the Major and Mr. Duncan proposed Mr. Budd. An objection had
been raised to Mr. Carden because he had not been, as the rules were
considered to require, resident during the previous twelve months in
Worcester. Counsel’s opinion was taken on the point, and a very tedious
and hot discussion took place on the matter at the meeting. Ultimately
it came to a vote, and 106 declared Mr. Carden eligible, and 90 that he
was not. His name, therefore, went to the ballot, and he was
elected—having received 310 votes to 131 for Mr. Walsh, and 40 for Mr.
Budd.
1843—JUNE 30—At a quarterly meeting of the governors, a strong resolution
was passed in reference to a disgraceful attack upon C. H. Hebb, Esq.,
which had appeared in the _Guardian_ newspaper. Mr. Hebb having had an
operation very successfully performed upon him, presented the Infirmary
with a sum of £10 in token of his thankfulness, and partly because the
instruments belonging to that institution had been employed by the
operating surgeon. The writer in the _Guardian_ affirmed that the
instruments had been purchased solely with a view to this very operation,
and so “the shine was taken out” of Mr. Hebb’s donation. This proved to
be utterly false.
1845—DECEMBER 19—A very sharp contest for the office of secretary to the
Infirmary, in the room of Mr. T. H. Wheeler, deceased, between Mr. John
Palmer, proposed by Mr. Curtler and Dr. Hastings—and Mr. D. W. Nash,
proposed by the Rev. T. Pearson and Mr. John Parker. Mr. Nash had 216
votes, and Mr. Palmer 169.
1846—MARCH 28—At the quarterly meeting of the governors, the committee
appointed, on the motion of Mr. Curtler, to inquire into an alleged
laxity of attendance on the part of the medical officers of the
institution, and ill conduct of its general business, presented their
report. Mr. Curtler, however, had not attended the meetings of the
committee, because the medical officers all insisted on their right to be
present; and several complaints, therefore, had not been brought before
them. The charges, in most of the cases investigated, seemed to be
disproved; but of the beneficial effect the inquiry had in the improved
management of the institution there can be no doubt. Mr. Curtler
obtained another committee, to revise the whole of the rules of the
institution.
1846—JUNE 26—A quarterly meeting of the governors held in the Nisi Prius
Court, at the Shire Hall, with John Williams, Esq., in the chair. The
medical men connected with the institution offered great opposition to a
motion of Mr. Curtler’s to exclude the subscribers from all meetings of
committees, and give them leave only to attend the general quarterly
boards; the object being to enable the governors to appoint select
committees. Mr. Curtler supported the proposition, as the usual practice
of all large bodies and institutions of this kind, and because inquiry
into the affairs of the institution by a select committee became
absolutely necessary, as the funds were being frittered away and the
rules neglected. The medical men said the alteration was aimed at them,
and sought their exclusion from the committees. They called select
committees secret committees, and said the rules made with so much wisdom
by their ancestors ought not to be altered. The medical men defeated Mr.
Curtler’s resolution by 58 to 32.
1847—JANUARY 2—A quarterly meeting of the governors held at the Shire
Hall, over which the Lord Bishop of the Diocese presided. Mr. Curtler
moved for a select committee, on which only two of the medical officers
of the institution should attend, to consider what alterations were
necessary in the rules. The medical men insisted upon their right to be
all present at the meetings of the committee, and only yielded when the
majority of the meeting was evidently seen to be against them. They then
agreed to a committee of nine gentlemen, reserving the right to delegate
any two of their own body to act with them.
1847—MARCH 27—At the quarterly meeting of the governors, Mr. Curtler’s
committee for revising the rules of the institution presented their
report. The medical men having given way, a great number of alterations
were recommended, and power taken to appoint select committees, on which
two of the medical officers should always serve. The other medical men
of the city and neighbourhood were invited to witness operations; and the
salary of Mr. Cole, the house surgeon, increased to £100 a year. Mr.
Curtler mentioned—as one among other things showing how necessary inquiry
had been—that the malt supplied to the institution was enough for twice
the beer that was consumed within the walls, and that about thirty-three
hogsheads annually disappeared out of the back door. The report was
unanimously received.
1849—MARCH 31—At the quarterly meeting of the governors it was determined
that the £840 obtained from the sale of tickets at the Jenny Lind concert
should be applied to the building of a chapel for the use of the
patients. The Very Rev. the Dean added another £100; and it was
principally to his exertions in obtaining what more was necessary in the
way of funds, that the public and the patients owe the very pretty
erection which is now attached to the back of the main building.