Reflecting on 75 years of the NHS - an interview with former medical laboratory scientist
To mark the 75th anniversary of the NHS, we caught up with a former medical laboratory scientist, who worked at The Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH) when it first opened 58 years ago.
Brian Newland, from Bishop’s Stortford, started his NHS career in 1953, at Harold Wood Hospital, as a trainee medical laboratory technician in pathology.
Brian then went onto undertake National Service between 1954 and 1956, at the Royal Army Medical Military Hospital in Woolwich, working in the hospital laboratory, carrying out the microbiological investigations of infectious and tropical diseases of military personnel.
After returning from National Service, Brian joined the pathology department at St. Margaret’s Hospital (Epping) from 1958 to 1964, mainly dealing with blood transfusion and antenatal blood testing. Brian added: “I had always been interested in biology and science and to go into a job where I could pursue that interest, appealed to me.
“My sister, who was six years older, was already working in a hospital laboratory, before going off to medical school to study medicine at the Royal Free Hospital. Her first house surgeon position coincidentally, was at Herts and Essex Hospital (Bishop’s Stortford) in the mid-1950s.”
The new pathology laboratory at PAH first opened in 1965, which Brian transferred to until he retired in 1999, taking on the roles of medical laboratory scientist, carrying out blood tests and other laboratory investigations to help clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, and latterly as the pathology directorate manager, managing eighty staff across three hospital sites.
Brian said: “The transition of moving from a fully operational department at St. Margaret’s Hospital to brand new facilities at PAH was an exciting time in my career.
“Although a lot of preparatory work had been undertaken throughout the planning of the hospital, like other newly appointed heads of department, we had approximately three months to equip staff and create a working department for when the hospital started functioning fully with wards and inpatients from January 1966.”
Brian attended the opening ceremony of PAH on 27 April 1965 and greeted Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, along with other heads of departments. He recalls the day as: “It was staged as a big event and there were a lot of local and NHS VIPs present.
“A large marquee had been erected for visitors on the car park, which was situated on the site where the emergency department now stands. The main presentations took place in the staff restaurant, before Her Royal Highness was given tea in the adjacent lounge. I was also presented to her on a second occasion when she visited to celebrate the successful commissioning of the CAT scanner in the radiology department.”
Recalling memories of healthcare prior to the introduction of the NHS, Brian said: “As a child growing up during the war, GPs tended to work individually and independently of each other, not as group practices.
“Their surgeries were held in the back room of a house with the front room being the waiting room for the patients awaiting to be seen. The term ‘being on the panel’ seems to ring a bell, and a sum of money usually exchanged hands when you saw the doctor. It was common practice for the GP to dispense their own medicines, from behind a screened off area in their consulting room. Home visits by the family GPs were quite common in those days.
“There were smaller cottage hospitals in some communities, friendly places which carried out minor procedures and non-specialist clinics and were usually run by the local GPs.”
Brian recalls his time at PAH and said: “We underwent several organisational management changes, but the nature of the work in the frontline services generally remained the same, keeping up with changes that new technology and treatments brought with them.
“Harlow was a relatively young community when PAH first opened, so there was a significant demand for maternity, paediatric and special care baby services.
“Although facilities for other specialities were available in the early days, demands for care and facilities for the elderly became more necessary. Hence, PAH has undergone significant developments since first opening its doors, to accommodate all the demands for its service.
“I look back on my time working in the NHS with great satisfaction and am pleased that I had the opportunity to work for such a great organisation, carrying out such a good public service.
“Changes will always take place in organisations and the NHS. To any youngster thinking of taking up a profession in the health service, I say give it a go.”
After clocking up an astonishing 46 years’ service in the NHS, Brian describes his most memorable moments: “During my time at St. Margaret’s and PAH I recall several memorable episodes which involved the wok in pathology.
“The outbreak of Typhoid fever in Harlow, affecting 23 individuals and many contacts, in June 1963, caused by infected corned beef from Argentina being sold from a butcher’s shop in Harlow.
“A mysterious outbreak known as the Epping jaundice, affecting 84 patients. They became ill after they all had bought and eaten a particular type of wholemeal bread, from a local baker. The bread had been baked from a sack of flour that had been contaminated by a chemical that had leaked on the floor of a delivery van.
“Throughout the whole of my career, I think the major changes that took place, were the introduction of new technology and the use of computers, which allowed us to carry out many more tests and handle the data we produced.
“Without being able to recall the exact dates, there were four or five weeks in 1967 or 1968 when scenes from the film Clockwork Orange were filmed using an unused ward on the first floor. Film crews and actors located themselves in their caravans on the maternity car park, which used to be where the Alexandra Day Stay Unit was built.”
Brian retired 24 years ago, at the age of 63. On the many times that he has visited PAH, as a patient or visitor, since retiring, he said: “I never cease to be amazed how much things have changed since I worked there. The amount of new building, less green spaces, the relocation of wards from their original floors and the enormous proliferation of car parking, make a tremendous difference to how I recall PAH back in the mid-60s.”
It has been incredible to speak with Brian and listen to his career story on this special occasion. Thank you for your exceptional hard work and commitment to our patients and the local community throughout the years.