From standing orders of St Thomas's Hospital 1699 - 1752

[Magpie]

Went into my airing cupboard to find something and came across tea towel I'd been given years ago and thought someone might find these rules interesting.
1. No person shall be received into the House who is visited or suspected to be visited with the Plague, Itch, Scald-Head or other infectious diseases and if any such be taken in, then to be discharged as soon as discovered.
2. Patients shall not swear,nor take God's name in vain,nor revile,nor miscall one another,nor strike or beat another, nor steal Meat or Drink or Apparel or other thing from the other.
3. Patients shall not abuse themselves by inordinateDrinking nor incontinent Living,nor talk nor act Immodestly upon pain of expulsion; and when they go or return from the Meals and Beds they shall crave God's blessing and return Thanks to God.
4. No drink shall be brought in and sold to Patients except by the Physician's and Surgeon's licence.
5. No patient with Foul disease shall go out of his ward, nor come into the House to fetch anything,nor within Chapel, nor sit upon the seats in the Courtyards upon pain of expulsion.
6. None of the Women shall go into the Men's wards, nor the Men into the Women's, without licence, upon pain of expulsion.
7. The Sisters shall clean the wards by Six a.m.
8. Every tenth bed is to be left empty to air and not more than one patient is to be put into each bed.
9. The Sisters shall see that no Card Play or Dicing tales place in the House.
10. If any of the Sisters shall disorder themselves by brawling with one another or other misdemeanour, she is to be removed her Ward and subsequently discharged the House forever.
11. Old sheets shall be washed and given to the Surgeons for Dressings.
12. No Surgeon shall suffer his Servant to perform any Operation; dilate or cut open Imposthumes, or Sinous Ulcersexcept the Master of such Servantbe present, and direct the same.
13. No Dead body shall be opened, Dissected or Dismembered without leave from the Treasurer or Steward in the absence of the Treasurer.
14. The Sexton shall keep the Chapel and yards clean and make graves six feet deep, six feet long and  three feet wide at eighteen pence each.
(Grammar and spelling as on the towel in old handwriting.)
Incidentally if anyone can tell me why I went into the airing cupboard in the first place I'd be very grateful!!!

[Sarah Rogers]

Thats great..thanks for typing it out...did you train there? Lizzie

[Magpie]

Hi Lizzie
No I trained at QE School of Nursing, did combined SRN and RSCN, great experience obtained at Birmingham General, Women's, Childrens. Stayed in B'ham for 7 years working at B'ham Accident Hospital (loved the trauma), Dudley Rd and then orthopaedics at Royal Orthopaedic Hospital.

[nursesue]

ooo magpie I envy you - you trained at the QE and worked at the "Acci" My O' levels weren't good enough for the QE so ended up at Good Hope in Sutton Coldfield. Did you do a stint at B/ham Kids? I worked as a theatre nursing auxillary for a wee while

[wilfb]

Hi.

Magpie - I am going to print a few copies and ask all visitors to read and sign....

Will.