Public invited to share medical memories at open day

Please note that there will not be any parking available onsite for visitors (aside from those with a disabled badge; in which case parking is severely limited). We would strongly encourage use of the park and ride scheme, or alternative public transport, as the bus station and Worcester Foregate Street rail station are both. within ten minutes walk. Alternatively, there are two local authority carparks near the West side of City Campus, as well as Crowngate shopping centre and various other city carparks.

Members of the public will have the chance for a glimpse inside the newly refurbished former Worcester Royal Infirmary where a new medical exhibition will open later in the year. The George Marshall Medical Museum is holding an open day within the University of Worcester’s City Campus on Saturday 19th February 2011 from 10am to 4pm. The George Marshall Medical Museum and the University of Worcester have received £537,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to establish a new medical exhibition within the former Infirmary. The exhibition will celebrate the history of the site and the medical heritage of the region.

The free family event will include tours of the former Infirmary where the British Medical Association was founded by Sir Charles Hastings in 1832. Visitors on the day will be invited to share their memories and stories of the former Infirmary, some of which will be included in the new exhibition. There will also be activities during the day to get families involved including two walking tours of key Worcester sites relating to Hastings’ life and work led by Discover History.

The event will also raise awareness of the current Worcestershire Breast Unit campaign. It is the aim of the Campaign to build a dedicated unit to ensure rapid access, assessment and treatment for breast problems. By bringing in state of the art equipment, diagnosis will be made rapidly and treatment speeded up.

Catriona Smellie, Curator at the George Marshall Medical Museum, said: ‘This event is a fantastic way to spread the news of our recently awarded funding to establish the new exhibition, as well as to invite the community to share their memories of this important local landmark. It is also an exciting opportunity to connect the historic collections and the public health campaigns of Sir Charles Hastings to a current - and tremendously important - campaign in the city Hastings worked tirelessly to serve.’

Costumed guides from Discover History will walk visitors through the historic city of Worcester reliving some of the city’s medical past. The two guided walks which last an hour and a half will take place at 11.00am and 2pm from the main reception of the City Campus on Castle Street.  Booking in advance is recommended by calling 07949222137 or emailing discoverhistory@aol.com.

 

This event is part of the 'Love Worcester' February half term heritage events. Visit 5 heritage venues in the area and win a chance to be entered into a prize draw for tickets to an event at the Swan Theatre or Huntingdon Hall. More information on this event can be found Here.