My first day at Hackney

Dr Last describes starting his career as a House Physician at Hackney Hospital straight after qualifying, suddenly and terrifyingly finding himself in charge of two large wards.

Accommodation at Hackney

It was a living-in post with a room and meals provided, bacon and eggs available from friendly kitchen staff at any time of the night.

A typical day

Dr Last describes a typical day, beginning at 8.00 a.m. with a visit to the wards to be briefed by the sister. There would be daily informal rounds with the registrar, and at least twice a week formal rounds with the consultant, when the house physician was responsible for taking notes.

The hospital hierarchy

Cleanliness

Cleaners were attached to every ward. With the antibiotics regime still very simple in comparison with today, resistance to drugs was unheard of and hospital infections such as MRSA were unknown.

Hospital referrals

Local GPs were able to send patients to the hospitals which they felt were most appropriate to the patient's needs. Therefore many of the more interesting cases went to central London hospitals rather than Hackney.

Admissions

A local GP could arrange an admission directly, usually with a phone call to the registrar.

Smallpox and tuberculosis

A patient arriving at the Casualty Department was discovered to have smallpox. Dr Last was instructed to vaccinate every member of staff, approximately five hundred people.