Len Scaps
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MRSA - a lesson from Glasgow's PastThe current concerns raised in the press almost daily about the cleanliness of hospitals in the UK and the spread of infection reminded me of a tale from the history of our own city and it's main hospital, The Royal Infirmary.
In 1860 Joseph Lister oversaw the building of a new surgical block at the Royal, which was at the time the city's only general hospital. A while after it was built there was an alarming rise in deaths from what were classified as "hospital diseases" in ward 23 on the ground floor. Suspecting that a blocked rain may be the culprit and investigation was launched and it was quickly discovered that there was a far more horrifying source for the infections.
It transpired that the neighbouring ward 24 was in fact built atop a mass grave from the 1849 cholera epidemic , with coffins only inches from the surface and separated from the surgical ward by only a four foot high basement area.
The solution at the time was to treat the grave with lime and carbolic acid and then add another level of earth over the top and resume surgical activities in the wards above.
The affected wards have long since been demolished, but as to whether the grave is still there I do not know. Perhaps someone else can fill in the blanks?
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