Builth Cottage Hospital, A Centenary History 1897-1997, by Gwen Davies
Foreword | Acknowledgements | Prologue Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6
Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 |
Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Epilogue
The League of Hospital Friends, by Betts Pugh
Builth, Queen of the Wye, by Jim Davies
Chapter Eleven - "FURTHER
TRAUMA" AND CHANGE
In April 1961, a Review of the Proposed Hospital Development Plan
for Wales, was published. One sentence which struck a chill
into the heart of the community at Builth and the surrounding
area, was a suggestion to close the four maternity beds at the
Hospital and to transport maternity cases to Llandrindod Wells. The
expected uproar following this suggestion and a strong letter of
protest was sent to the Board of Health pointing out the disadvantages
of this plan. The letter included the following points:
Mothers wished to have their babies in their own hospital with
their own doctor or midwife in attendance.
They wanted to be near the hospital in case of an emergency.
The Builth to Llandrindod road was often inaccessible in winter
owing to floods, ice or snow.
The Builth Hospital served a huge rural area and it would mean
many extra miles of travel for those living in the north Breconshire
area.
A letter was later received from Dr Alwyn-Smith stated that the
capital programme for Wales had been reviewed but not yet confirmed,
and they might not include the proposals which had been outlined
for Builth in the final scheme.
But such was the cloud of uncertainty hanging over the whole question
that his reply did nothing to dispel the fears of the community
and in 1962 the Builth Urban District Council wrote to the Brecon
and Radnor management Committee asking for some positive information
regarding the future of the hospital.
In July 1965 the Welsh Board of Health wrote saying:
“Re: Maternity Closure and the transport of cases
to Llandrindod.
At present there are four maternity beds at Builth Cottage Hospital
and seven at Llandrindod War Memorial Hospital. The proposal
to provide one unit in the future is based on the Minister’s
Health Plan, which states: “There will sometimes be
justification on geographic grounds for the provision of maternity
Units at peripheral towns – where the population to be served
is sufficient to support a unit.” A small unit at
Builth is not considered to be justified as the suggested size
of viable unit is 15 – 25 beds serving a population of 35,000
- 50,000.”
This reply brought forth a huge outcry of protest from all concerned
and after a packed meeting in the Church Hall with Doctors and
residents voicing their opposition in no uncertain terms, the following
resolution was passed by the management Committee:
“On account of the scattered area served by the hospital,
it was essential that the maternity beds at Builth be retained.“
The Board was informed of this and the crisis was averted for
the time. This was the first of many times that a strong
united protest by the medical staff and the whole community at
Builth resulted in overturning a decision to close a part of the
hospital.
It was at this time that Mrs R M Thomas, Cefndyrys and Dr Ken
Pugh, MC, were appointed to serve on the Brecon and Radnor Hospital
Management Committee and it would be safe to assume that their
vigorous opposition to the removal of the maternity beds helped
to avert the threat of closure.
In September 1965 the Management Committee was sorry to receive
the resignation of Mr D A Richards who had been employed as a laboratory
technician for 17 years and also had undertaken the secretarial
work at the hospital. Mr Richards had been a valuable member
of the staff and would be much missed. The committee congratulated
him on his appointment as secretary at the hospital in Oakham,
and wished him well in the future.
The Doctors’ practice was expanding and they were contemplating
building new premises, possibly within the hospital precincts. However,
by July 1965 another site had been found and in 1967 the new surgery
in Garth Road was opened giving the four doctors more spacious
rooms, in purpose-built premises with Dr Dick Davenport
in charge of the records.
Matron Rees, who has suffered ill health for some time, sadly
died, and Sister Doris Jones was appointed as matron. Apparently
the appointment was accepted by Sister Jones with some reluctance,
in the first instance, as she was quite happy to remain as a “sister”. However,
during the next 12 years, until her retirement in 1977, matron
Jones became the embodiment of everyone’s idea of what a
Hospital Matron should be. A reluctant administrator, she
had an enthusiasm for cleanliness, compassion for her patients
and a devotion to her calling. With her immaculate blue
uniform and starched white flowing headress, she could not be
mistaken for anyone other than “The Matron”, and her
presence in a ward gave confidence to many an apprehensive patient.
The kitchen was, at the time, still producing mouth-watering beautifully
cooked meals prepared by Cook Pat Thomas, who commenced work at
the hospital in 1962 and who in 1997 is still working there, part
time. Visitors will recall eyeing the tea trolley when it
came round the wards at 3.30pm, laden with home made sponges,
cakes, scones and finely cut bread and butter, wishing they had
such a tea waiting at home for them!
Mrs Betwyn Thomas, who has given 23 years of service to the hospital,
remembers the melt-in-the-mouth pastry of Cook Ada Lewis. She
recalls the fresh vegetables and strawberries supplied for the
garden by Jim Davies and the happy family atmosphere which pervaded
throughout the hospital. So much was this welcoming atmosphere
appreciated by one patient, Mrs W T Seaborne, Brecon Road, Builth,
that she wrote an article entitled “The Hospital where the
patient becomes one of the family”, which was printed in
the Brecon and Radnor Express. Mrs Seaborne wrote:
“The
hospital has a welcoming appearance, everything is spotless and
shining, the food delicious and tempting. But over and above
is the great skill and kindness of the doctors, matron and staff. Nothing
is too much trouble for them and there is a happy atmosphere of
willing teamwork which cannot fail to notice and appreciate.”
In a long article Mrs Seaborne goes on to write:
“Let us hope that any further threat to our hospital can
be averted, it is a model of its kind, immaculate and well equipped,
run by a dedicated team of doctors, matron and staff. My
thanks to them all.
It was Mrs Seaborne who first gave Builth Hospital the sobriquet – “The
little Haven on the hill”. A description which could
still apply today.
In 1966 the last of the pay beds were cancelled at the hospital,
a decision supported by the Management Committee and the doctors.
The operating theatre continued to be widely used with major,
minor and caesarian operations being performed by Dr Ken Pugh and
Dr Donald Cameron. Dr Venn Pugh and Dr Clifford Fenn were
the anaesthetists. Consultants were visiting the hospital
on a monthly and bi-monthly basis, more facilities and services
were being offered and it soon became obvious that a new Out Patients
Department was essential if the good work of the hospital was to
continue.
The newly refurbished building, with its modern equipment, gleaming
walls and re-laid flooring, enjoyed a few years of tranquillity
until 1965/6 when the Management Committee decided that their Capital
Works Programme should included further improvements at Builth
Hospital. These improvements to include:
A New Female Ward
Two consulting rooms
A side ward in Maternity to be converted into a Labour Ward
A sewing and ironing room in the Nurses Home.
A new Out Patients Department
Once again the peace was shattered with building taking place
all around, but the much needed Out Patients Department provided
adequate facilities for many years. As the hospital expanded
its services, this extension, too, became insufficient, and in
1994 a new Out Patients Department was built in the hospital grounds,
funded by the League of Hospital Friends and other Voluntary Organisations. It
was opened by county Councillor Mrs R M Thomas, a founder member – and
President of the “Friends”.
The alterations, although causing some disruption, proved to be
of tremendous benefit with much greater provision made available
for the treatment of out patients, the numbers of which had increased
enormously. In the first quarter of 1965, 625 out patients
were treated.
The new sewing room, too, was a boon; not least to Nurse May Morgan.
(known to all as “Morg”) who was still sewing at the
hospital until well into her eighties. Morg, after retiring
from nursing, returned to the hospital to help with a back-log
of sewing, and for some years worked without payment until the
management insisted that she be put on the pay-roll!
A period of comparative calm followed the re-modelling of the
building, in spite of the fact that nationally there was great
concern when successive Ministers introduced schemes, all of which
would mean the closure of a large number of what they called “small
uneconomic units”. In fact, in 1962, Mr Enoch Powell,
the then Health Minister, presented a White Paper which would have
meant the closure of no less than 1,111 small hospital, although
that figure was not mentioned when the paper was put before Parliament. All
through the 1960’s the threat of closure hung over these
small units and it was to the credit of the Brecon and Radnor Management
Committee that they were prepared to put a great deal of their
capital expenditure into a Cottage Hospital the size of Builth
at a time of such uncertainty.
By 1970 the intention to re-organise Local Government was imminent
and with it came the need to examine the structure of the Health
Service. A document from the Brecon and Radnor Hospital Management
Committee was submitted to the Welsh Office in 1970 saying:
The need for the unification of all health services under one
authority has long been recognised, despite the inevitable upheaval
which will be caused. Never-the-less, it will be complimentary
to a natural consequence of the Government’s intention to
re-organise Local Government. The argument presented, that
the Welsh Hospital Board is no longer necessary and its function
to be taken over by the Welsh Office, is untenable. Doubts
as to the viability of Powys as an independent area were expressed
because of a lack of a large hospital. A widespread area
such as Powys would require an Authority membership of at least
35. It is doubtful whether a complex service with its multiple
disciplines and conflicting priorities would ever be workable. But,
the Green Paper proposal towards a goal of a Single Unified Health
Service is, at this stage acceptable, in principle.”
The 1970’s saw tremendous changes, not only in the movement
of staff, but in the function of the hospital and the services
it offered. The whole ethos of medical care was changing: the
practice of sending patients to larger District General Hospitals
for major operations to be performed by specialist was becoming
more and more prevalent. Up to the time of their retirement,
major surgery was being undertaken in Builth by Drs. Ken Pugh and
Donald Cameron, but with their leaving and the escalating system
of sending patients who required operations to other hospital,
the theatre at Builth became under utilized. So much so that
in 1986 the theatre, which had been built as a memorial to those
who died in the first world war, was completely gutted and incorporated
into a new Female Ward. Only minor surgery was performed
at the hospital after then. The decade of the 70’ saw
the retirement of Matron Doris Jones, all the four medical doctors
as well as “Dr” Dick Davenport at the surgery.
The first of the long-serving doctors to leave was Dr Clifford
Fenn, who in 1974 retired after 28 years. Although Dr Fenn
was part of the Builth practice he had his surgery and lived in
Llanwrtyd Wells and covered the North Breconshire area. His
is well remembered as an excellent doctor, extremely kind and courteous
and highly regarded. His love of the countryside was well
known, an ardent and passionate ornithologist, he was one of the
pioneers responsible for saving the Red Kite from extinction in
the Abergwesyn area. As a “Kite Warden” he organised
sympathetic local people into groups to keep guard over breeding
birds, at a time when the kite population was down to single figures. His
wife, Betty, was a creative artist, and it was she who painted
the exquisite bird paintings on the doors of the hospital wards
at Builth, each one named, i.e. Chaffinch, Wren, Linnet, Kingfisher,
Penguin, Pheasant and Stork, which was, of course, the maternity
ward!
Dr Fenn was succeeded in the practice by Dr Roger Harriss who
came to Builth in 1974. Dr Harriss had previously worked
in Africa and specialised in Tropical Medicine.
Two years after, in 1976 Dr Donald Cameron retired, after 29 years. Dr
Cameron was another deeply caring man and a fine surgeon who wasted
no time in getting to grips with the problem in hand. He
is remembered for the speed in which he answered all call-outs,
often arriving at the patients home almost before they had put
the phone down. He had been an RAF Doctor, serving in the
Middle East and his RAF training manifested itself in his rapid
approach to complicated surgery. Many of his patients, especially
those living alone, have reason to be grateful for his help in
fixing a broken electric fire or radio. Nothing delighted
him more than to be able to have a screw driver in his hand and
to repair something mechanical. In common with all the local
doctors of that era, Dr Cameron did not call the ambulance out
at night, unless it was absolutely necessary, but would transport
the patient to the hospital in his own car.
The following two years saw the retirement of three of the hospital’s
most senior medical members and staff, namely Dr Ken Pugh in 1977,
followed by Dr Venn Pugh and Matron Doris Jones in 1978. It
seemed inconceivable that the hospital would be without a “Dr
Pugh” in its medical team. For over fifty years the
name of Pugh had been synonymous with Builth Cottage Hospital and
it is difficult to find words which would adequately express the
debt of gratitude which the people of North Breconshire owe to
the family. From that time in 19256, when Dr Stephen Pugh
and his sons arrived in Builth, there are few local families whose
lives have not benefited in some way from their special gift for
surgery and medical care. To answer the question posed by “Artifex” in
1933, “Yes, the people of Builth did, and still do realise
their great privilege in having such a family of their calibre
living in the town”.
To have to part, at the same time with Matron Doris Jones, who
had personified everyone’s idea of a “Matron” ,
was a tremendous sadness. However, to quote a former Hospital
Governor, “time change and we have to change with them”. The
three did retire amid scenes of some emotion; the walls of the
hospital, although slightly dented, did not fall down, and everyone
wished them a long and happy retirement with was so very well deserved.
After the retirement of Matron Jones the title of “Matron"
was no longer used. Her successor was Miss Christine Morgan,
who under the new administration was known as “Nursing Officer” and
the distinctive Matron’s uniform was discarded. Miss
Morgan proved to be an outstanding administrator and under her
direction many innovative changes took place. It was most
distressing to learn that within two short years of her being appointed,
Miss Morgan had to retire because of ill-health and is now, sadly,
confined to a wheel chair. During her short term of office,
she had administered the hospital with a sure touch and her premature
retirement was much regretted.
Changes had also taken place in the secretarial department. Shirley
Lewis left in 1973 to be followed by Grace Machin in 1975-78. Janet
Morgan was appointment hospital secretary in 1978. She is
now Local Administrator and business manager leads a secretarial
team of three and is a key member of staff.
Another loss was felt in 1977 when it was learned that Dick Davenoport
was to retire. “Dr Dick” as he was affectionately
known, had worked in the hospital service of over 30 years, first
as hospital secretary before the NHD takeover and then as clerk
at the surgery, in charge of patients records. In latter
years he had been joined by Mrs Anne Lloyd, who took over when “Dr
Dick” retired owing to ill health.
It was extremely sad to say goodbye to all these admirable people
who had been an integral part of the Builth hospital scene for
so many years. But the time for change had come and it was
with great anticipation and pleasure that everyone looked forward
to meeting the new, young Doctors and Senior Nurse who would be
assuming the medical mantle in Builth and Llanwrtyd Wells.
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