Re-ordering Case Notes Phase 2

LHSA’s case notes continue to be re-ordered and audited. The current case note audit follows on from a project for case notes affected in a shelving collapse. All those affected in the collapse have been re-ordered so attention has turned to the rest of them, many of which have not been checked for many years and contain disordered elements. The batch of case notes now receiving attention, and very near to completion, are those from the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) Ear and Throat collection, dating 1930-1953. The surgeons practicing during these times included Mr JD Lithgow, Dr G Ewart Martin, Dr I Simson Hall and Dr JP Stewart. They include notes regarding what was then the routine practice of removing tonsils and adenoids to much more complicated cases of treating hearing loss and cancer. The case notes were housed loose inside 657 box files. As re-ordering was carried out, a handlist was produced with information about every box file, including the alphabetical sequence, the number of case notes inside and any anomalies in the sequence. Most of the notes have been kept in the original box files for now, with only those inside files which were decaying or damaged re-housed into archival boxes.

Case Notes in original boxes, after re-ordering

As always, there are peculiar finds that are made when checking through such material. Some interesting finds amongst the notes have been early recommendations from a doctor that a patient should cut down smoking, a small collection of previously unknown RIE case notes from 1918-1919, and pages from the Eagle Annual 1958!

This particular collection contains approximately 140,000 case notes and now it has been (nearly!) re-ordered is more accessible and ready for future conservation work.

More information on case note re-ordering can be found on our website: Case Note Re-ordering web pages.

Best foot forward



Front cover of programme



This week we have received a charming accession which will be added to our Edinburgh Foot Clinic and School of Chiropody collection. It consists of the programme for the Clinic’s AGM and the visit of HRH, the Duke of Kent on 30th May 1935. Enclosed with the programme, which measures approximately 9cm by 5cm, was a photograph of the Duke meeting nurses at the clinic.

The Edinburgh Foot Clinic was opened in 1924 by Miss Catherine Norrie and her sister Mrs Margaret Swanson to treat ‘minor foot ailments of the working class’. Situated at 1a Hill Place, it was open for two or three half days each week and was staffed by volunteers. Patients paid a minimum charge of 1/- and, if possible, an extra donation. In 1928 the Clinic moved to 81 Newington Road, due to increased demand for its services and the consequent need for larger premises. During World War II mobile chiropody units were set up for the Services. By 1948 the Clinic was open on all week days and on Wednesday evenings. It still catered mainly for working class patients. Most applied for treatment directly to the Clinic, although some were referred by their GPs. The National Health Service took over the running of the Clinic in 1948. You can view the full catalogue on our website: Edinburgh Foot Clinic Catalogue.





HRH the Duke of Kent meets nurses



Promoting LHSA’s Preservation Policy: a paper conservator’s perspective

Yesterday I gave a presentation as part of the RLUK/PAC training day: writing and using a preservation policy. LHSA’s experiences of producing and implementing a policy of this kind were shared with 16 delegates from organisations near and far, from St Andrews to Stockholm!

The event was hosted by the National Library of Scotland and most of the day was given over to showing the delegates what should be in a preservation policy and how to go about writing one. I was last up with a short, informal presentation using LHSA as a case study. We finalised our policy in 2007 (a summary version is available on the LHSA website), and it has been the foundation for all our preservation and conservation work on the collections since.

I talked about why LHSA felt a policy of this kind was important (to formalise our responsibility for the care and use of the collections) and what the aims of the policy are (to outline LHSA’s approach to the care of the collections, both present and future, and to detail current conditions and conservation work). I also described how it had been used to underpin our conservation programme and as part of the induction process for new staff. The policy has also been used as supporting evidence for applications to external funding bodies and in my own professional accreditation. I finished up the talk with some thoughts about what we might do with and to the policy in future and gave the delegates some top tips!

The training day was a great opportunity to meet other professionals and share some of LHSA’s experience in this important area for the preservation of our cultural heritage.