Stannington Children’s Hospital

Daily life at Stannington didn’t just revolve around patients recovering from illness.

The daily schedule for patients in 1966. (click to enlarge)

Education and time for recreational activities were also included in the daily lives of children staying in the hospital. As patients often stayed for many months or years at a time continuing education was considered so important the hospital had its own school. For part of its history the hospital also had a member of staff whose sole job was to look after the patient’s welfare and recreation needs.

In one of our patient files from 1966 we have found a daily schedule of activities. This illustrates how structured daily life was at the hospital.

As the daily timetable shows, the day started with postural drainage, breathing exercises or the taking of medicine, the exact nature of this varied with the patients and their complaint. After breakfast the school day began at 9.15. During a long lunch break children were again allocated time for treatment and a short period of free time. In addition, in the middle of the day, 45 minutes of bed rest was scheduled before the children returned to school for afternoon lessons.

A Stannington Sanatorium classroom pictured in the 1930s (ref: HOSP-STAN 11/1/13)

At the end of the school day time was again allocated for treatments before tea time at 4:30. Visiting by relatives was allowed between 5.00 and 6.30pm. We know that this element of the child’s day did change over time. Until the mid-1950s visiting was only allowed on the 1^st Saturday of each month meaning that children went long periods without seeing their parents; and other children including siblings and friends were not allowed to visit at all. Even in the 1960s its unlikely parents visited regularly during the evening due to the hospitals rural location and the wide geographical area from which patients were admitted. Bath time was between 6.30 and 7.30pm and bed time was set at 9.00pm.

During weekends and holidays without school to attend the children had much more free time but much of the other daily structure remained. On Sundays church services took place between 9.00 and 9.45 am, we know the hospital had its own chapel where these could take place.

The dining room at Stannington Sanatorium during the 1930s. (Ref: HOSP-STAN 11/1/11)

To manage this time in its earlier days the hospital employed a Welfare and Recreation Officer who arranged activities for the children. In this role he reported to the Hospital House Committee which oversaw the daily workings of the hospital. Activities organised included handicrafts, walks around the grounds, billiards, table tennis and film shows.

In addition to regular film shows which took place during the winter months the hospital also had television in the wards, it is often noted in a patient’s care summary card when they were judged well enough to be allowed out of bed and watch television. These televisions were installed early in the 1950s, 5 were purchased by the hospital’s Coronation Celebrations Committee which was formed to arrange the celebrations to mark the queen’s coronation in 1953. The Stannington Scout and Guide Group Committee contributed £40 to this.

For the January 1954 meeting of the Hospital House Committee the Welfare and Recreation Officer reported on the range of activities in progress:

“Handicrafts The following handicrafts are still being done, rug making, stool making and seating, some plaster cast work, lampshade covering, leatherwork and embroidery.

Indoor Games Two billiard tables are always in full use and also the table tennis table, a new set of table tennis bats and a set of billiard and snooker balls have been purchased from a money allowance from the Sanatorium Scout and Guide Fund.

Film Shows Two film shows were held this month and the following films were shown – “Rock River Renegades”, “Thunder River Feud”, “No Indians Please” also a good selection of cartoons.” (HOSP/STAN/1/2/6)

In addition to the regular activities on occasions the hospital played host to touring Gang Shows and local pantomimes. The hospital’s League of Friends arranged day trips for the children and each year the hospital held a sports day and fancy dress parade. (You can read more about Sports day and the special event to mark the hospital’s golden jubilee here).

Outdoor activities for the children included going on walks around the grounds led by the Welfare and Recreation Officer, playing sports such as cricket and football on the hospital sports field and using the swings and roundabouts which the hospital also had. For a short time in the 1950s and 60s the hospital also had its own Scout, Guide, Cub and Brownie groups.

Part of the hospital Scout Troop on a trip to Alnmouth (NRO 10510/3/2)

The children clearly made use of the facilities as now and again we see reports of accidents in patient files where children have been injured during these activities. For example in 1946 one child was hit in the right eye with a cricket bat (we presume accidentally!) and suffered bruising. Whilst practising on the morning of Sports Day in 1958 a child fell, put her arm through a plate glass window and suffered lacerations. On occasions accidents whilst playing resulted in broken bones and children had to be referred to general hospitals in Newcastle for orthopaedic treatment.

The daily activity timetable mentions that children were able to play with toys, games and jigsaws. These were often donated to the hospital by local groups, businesses and the hospital’s League of Friends and were listed by the Matron at the end of her monthly reports to the Hospital House Committee along with other gifts to the hospital.

Whilst this post has looked at what daily life was like in the 1950s and 60s children would have been occupied in many of the same ways throughout the hospital’s existence. Education always formed an important part of the daily routine for patients around which other activities were organised. You can read an earlier blog post about Mary Ann Fulcher who was headmistress of the Sanatorium for 30 years until her retirement in 1951 here.

Whilst the majority of the case files we hold are for patients who suffered from tuberculosis, a significant number of the latter case files we hold are not. In the middle part of the 20^th Century detection and antibiotic treatment for T.B. developed and social conditions improved. This resulted in fewer children suffering from the disease requiring hospital treatment and beds being made available to children suffering from other complaints. From just a few non tuberculosis patients admitted in the mid-1950s numbers grew and in the 1960s around 80 in every hundred patients did not suffer from tuberculosis. Here we will look at the range of other illnesses and afflictions which children admitted to Stannington suffered from during this period.

To begin with, starting in 1956, non T.B. patients were admitted by referral from the same three visiting consultants who oversaw the treatment of tuberculosis patients. These patients were children who had chronic illnesses including asthma, respiratory infections, rheumatism and orthopedic conditions. This reflected the individual specialisms of the visiting consultants who were treating T.B. patients, and the illnesses it was thought would benefit from the environment and experience of the sanatorium and its staff.

By 1959 the situation had changed to the extent that most patients did not have tuberculosis; In the extract below from a letter found in a patient file, Dr Miller, one of the consultants who oversaw the care of patients at the hospital, explains what has changed.

Until a few years ago it [the sanatorium] was used entirely for children with tuberculosis, but recently as the number of children suffering from clinical tuberculosis has decreased so remarkably and social conditions have improved, we have been able to use the hospital for non – tuberculosis chronic respiratory disease and now the children with tuberculosis are in the minority.

From this point onwards the range of conditions which patients admitted to the hospital suffered from continued to grow. The table below summarises the range of conditions patients admitted to the hospital were diagnosed with in 1966, the last year of admissions for which we have case files, and is also illustrative of the preceding years in the decade.

Diagnosis	Cases admitted in 1966	% of total
Asthma	36	23
Tuberculosis (all types)	21	14
Behaviour Problem	15	10
Bronchitis	13	8
Chronic Respiratory infection	9	6
School Phobia	7	5
Bronchiectasis	4	3
Rheumatism	4	3
Diabetes	4	3
Muscular Dystrophy	3	2
Enuresis	3	2
Epilepsy	3	2
Malnutrition	2	1
Chorea	2	1
Eczema	2	1
Bronchopneumonia	2	1
Meningocele, glomerulonephritis, leg injuries, abdominal pain for investigation, endocarditis, headaches, osteitis of pubic ramus, Coeliac disease, Marfan’s syndrome, post pneumonia, neuroblastoma, Perthe’s disease, streptococcal infection, paralysis, obesity, for observation, habit spasms, post burns, fractured leg, scoliosis, mesenteric adenitis, post road accident, fibrocystic disease, pschomatic vomiting and amystonia congenita all accounted for 1 diagnosis on admission each.		16

The largest proportion of patients admitted to the hospital suffered from respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, and respiratory infections. Orthopaedic cases, conditions and injuries affecting bones and joints are also present. Patients diagnosed with psychological complaints make up a large group of patients admitted to the hospital. In addition to these there a number of other conditions are represented in the patient files; these include diabetes, obesity, chorea and admittance for a period of recovery after suffering from burns.

Patients suffering from asthma or other bronchial conditions were often admitted for several months or years at a time with the aim of improving their condition. For these patients treatment often included antibiotics such as penicillin, breathing exercises and postural drainage. If judged well enough, patients were often allowed home for holidays with permission from doctors. This allowed the patients to visit their families and also appears to have been used to trial patients in their home environment to see if they could sustain improvements in their health outside the hospital environment.

Treatment summary card — The treatment summary card of a patient admitted to Stannington Children’s Hospital in 1959 suffering from Asthma (HOSP-STAN-07-01-01-3710-03)

In the latter years of the time for which we have files patients were admitted with a range of psychological complaints. These were varied and include depression, psychosis, anxiety and school phobia. School Phobia, or the refusal to go to school, often had an underlying cause of depression or anxiety. These patients often came from difficult home backgrounds and were often admitted in part to give them respite from the home environment and the conditions which were causing their conditions. During the 1950s the care of these patients was overseen by Dr Connell, a consultant who had originally started visiting the hospital to see patients who had been admitted with conditions which it was felt may have in part had psychosomatic causes.

Case file cover for a child suffering from School Phobia (ref: HOSP-STAN-07-01-01-4501-01)

Children with orthopaedic conditions made up another group admitted to Stannington. Some of these were congenital, for example Perthe’s disease and talipes equinovarus (club foot), and some had other causes such as accidents. These patients were often admitted for recovery in a medically supervised environment following procedures and operations carried out at the general hospitals. The Royal Victoria Infirmary and Fleming Memorial Hospital in Newcastle feature regularly as places from which cases are referred.

In a large number of cases other factors played a role in a child’s admission alongside their medical condition. The continued provision of education meant that children were able to continue learning whilst their health improved. This appears to have been a particularly important factor in the cases of children with bronchial complaints such as asthma who outside Stannington could be missing large chunks of education. Schooling played such a large role in hospital life that admissions, discharges and holidays were commonly scheduled to coincide with school terms.

Home and social condition also played a role in the decision to admit children to Stannington. Examples include poor or overcrowded housing, a disrupted family environment, or where it was considered care or treatment administered by parents may be unreliable.

The case files for patients not suffering from T.B. largely follow the same format as that for T.B. patients. The case files for non-tuberculosis patients often include numerous letters regarding the progress of the patient’s recovery and arrangements for check-ups and procedures at other hospitals. These could often involve Stannington, the visiting consultant overseeing the patients care, specialists at other hospitals who were involved in a patient’s treatment, the family of the patient and the family doctor. In addition there can be other documents included in the files such as weight and height charts. One example is the page below, which is a dietary guide found in the file of a patient who was admitted to Stannington after being diagnosed with diabetes.

Recommended diet for a patient with diabetes. (ref: HOSP-STAN-07-01-01-3310_19)

Medicine, school and games; daily life at Stannington Children’s Hospital

Asthma, school phobia and broken bones: other conditions at Stannington in the era of antibiotics