﻿ Colwyn Bay Cottage Hospital.|1910-12-16|The North Wales Weekly News - Welsh Newspapers
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Colwyn Bay Cottage Hospital.


Colwyn Bay Cottage Hospital. OPENING OF AN OPERAT)\< THEATRE. COUNTESS DUNDONALD PERFORM THE CEREMONY Yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon was a red-letter day in the history of the beautiful Colwyn Bay Cottage Hospital, which is con- sidered one of the best equipped in North Wales. The Board of Management had issued a large number of invitations to the nobilitv, gentry, and tradespeople of the town and district to witness the formal opening of a new operating theatre, which has been erected on the north-east side of the main building, in memory of the late Mr. James Wood, J.P., one of the founders of the noble institution. Amongst those present were many of the clergy and ministers of the town and district, and all the members of the medical profes- sion. The fornal opening of the theatre was to be performed by the Countess Dun- donald, who was the donor of the site upon which the hospital stands. There was a brilliant gathering when Mr. Charles Reynolds, I.P. (in the regretted absence of Mr. James Amphlett, through in- dispositionl, presided. The Rev. John Griffiths, Vicar of Colwyn, offered prayer. The Chairman announced that letters of apology for non-attendance had been re- ceived from Sir Herbert Robert^, Ba. t., M.P., the Hon. and Mrs. Laurence Brodrick, the Lady Augusta Mostyn, the Hon. Mrs. Henry Mostyn, and Mr. F. H. Smith, Queen's Lodge, Colwyn Bay. The Chairman said. it was thirteen years since the Hospital was built, and its useful- ness had proved that extensions were neces- sary. The committee found for a long time that an operating theatre was necessary, andjthat day they had met to open the pew operating rhcatre. (Applause.) Dr. Pryce Morris said he had been living in the Colwyn Bay district for 34 years, long before the hospital was built. In his earlier days in the district it was difficult for a medical man to attend injured patients from the adjoining quarries. He related how he had to amputate the breast of a woman, who lived near the Plough Hotel, with the assistance of a young man of 18 years from Llaniairtalhaiarn, and his own coachman. He (the speaker; was the only qualified medical man in the room, and he had also to administer an anaesthetic. Al though the operation was performed under such difficulties, it was successful. Ona n- another occasion, he had to perform an operation at Ty Gwyn, Rhydyfoel, where a tenant of the Cv.rych Estate lived. Gwrych Castle, in those days, was a harbour of re- fuge for the poor, and this poor man was able to get anything that was required from C.wrych Castle. That operation, under diffi- culties, he was pleased to say. was also suc- cessful. (Hear, hear.* In his earlier days, in Colwyn, accidents at the quarries were more frequent than now. Legislation had no doubt been the cause of less accidents to the workmen. His hearers could imagine the difficulty there was in performing an opera- tion in a small bedroom, where the light was bad, and the wife, often with a large family, knew but little of practical nursing. They would, therefore, see what a great advantage ,,e it was to have an institution like that they were in, where patients could get good sur- gery, attention, and the best of nursing. PPR E CI AT 1V E O U A R R YM E N. I There was no class of people in their neigh- bourhood more than the quarrymen of Llan- ddulas who appreciated fully the value of that institution, and they were annual sub- scribers towards its up-keep. (Hear, hear.) There was good work done in that hospital, 'I nd the chief initiator of the operating theatre was the ^enMenian who was the Chairman oi The ot Management, Mr. Winter Whitehead. (Hear, hear, and applause). He had done more for the project than any- one, and liberally subscribed towards it. What man could know better than he the value of an operating tlieatre He had been surgeon at the Manchester Infirmary for many years, and his name was known throughout the surgical world, whilst many operating theatres were known by his name. (Applause.) There had been wonderful changes since he (the speaker) was a student, 40 years ago, in surgery. In fact, it was quite a revolution in the medical world. Before he closed his remarks, he would like to refer to the question of the hospital's resources. He was inclined to think that there were a wealthy lot of people in the neighbourhood, and he wondered whether they and the inhabitants of Colwyn Bay and Colwyn contributed towards the institution as they ought to do. (Hear, hear.) He knew people were bombarded in that dis- trict for various subscriptions. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) But in this case they were met on common ground, apart from religious divisions and political opinions, upon which they could carry out those humanitarian I feelings inculcated in the teaching of the Founder of Christianity. (Applause.) Dr. Wood followed with an interesting speech, and welcomed the Countess Dun- donald to perform the opening ceremony. They all remembered her generosity in pre- MR. GAMBLE'S INTERESTING STATEMENT. Mr. David Gamble, J.P., Chairman ot the Urban District Council, stated that the hos- pital was first mooted by the late Mr. James Wood, as a memorial of the Diamond Jubilee of Her late Majesty Queen Victoria. It was solelv due to his initiative that the hospital was "built. It was about two years before they had sufficient money to commence and it was not until August, 1898, that thev _l#»+(»d the hospital, which cost £ 1,600. Tt was doing good work in 1902 and it was J wl to erect a mortuary and laundry, at decided 3,?5 jn the following year great a c "made upon the necessity of a new stress wa &nd isolation wards. The latter were secured at a cost ot (700. In 1908, they had to build a li •ing and dining room for the growing stall at a cost of JUS. In 190S, they lost, unfortunately, through death, Mr. James Wood, and an idea was started by Mr. Wood's old scholar- of Dingle- wood School. to get up a memorial to him bv way of an endowment. The sum of IHÙ was collected, and some one suggested that no more fitting memorial to the late Mr. Wood could be devised than an operating theatre. The subscribers to the (I(ii were willing when asked that this should be (lone with the money. By the splendid help of the Chairman and others, the amount reached {690. The operating theatre was an expen- sive luxury, unfortunately. The cost of it was £ 850, so that they were /1 iO short to make up that sum. Remarks had been passed about that large sum being spent on an operating theatre, but he would remind those people of the up-to-dateness of the theatre, which was equipped with the very best and latest things in medical science, which would remain useful were it ever found necessary to extend the hospital hve or six times its present size. The average cost of maintaining the building was £ 330 per annum. They had had new rooms, which brought extra expense with them, and in this matter they lav themselves open to the generosity of the public to increase the funds. Could not everv subscriber get a new sub- scriber ? He did not ask for large sums, but a bigger quantity of subscribers. The lega- cies and gifts to the hospital were estimated at (811, and this formed an endowment fund. (Applause.1 The Chairman said that Mr. Gamble had rightly appealed for the subscription list to be spread amongst more subscribers. Mr. Francis unn, in the course of his ad dress, said it was in the jubilee vear of Her late Majesty's reign, 1897, that the idea of mor' commemorating that auspicious event bv providin a Hospital for the needs of this neighbourhood first found expression. I believe, he proceeded; it was toward the end of a meeting of the Oxford Local Committee, of which I was then Secretary, and the late Mr. lames Wood, Treasurer, that the idea was first discussed. Up to that time local cases usually went to Llandudno, to Den- bigh, or to Liverpool, and there were some very painful cases of people who had met with accidents being convevcd such long dis- tances. Vcry tough pioneer work was needed before the sense of the town was got over to the idea. There was a rival scheme in the air, but at a great meeting in the Public Hall, the Hospital won the day. I am sure that all friends of the victorious scheme arc glad to think that their rival of thirteen years atfo is to-dav in course of becoming an accom- plished fact, to the great increase in the beauty of our town. A Formation Committee was appointed, and you will find their portraits with their autographs, in the hall there, Alas, half of them have passed a,a\- I Dr. Eraser, one of the best of men, one of the most genial of friends, one of the most efficient and pains- taking ot practitioners, has gone. Z.;() lia-; John Roberts, that stalwart WeNh patriot,— John Roberts, Fern Bank, as we always called him. Harold Smith first went to the South of England, and then entered into his rest. The father of Colwvn Bay, our good friend Mr. John Porter, has left us. Last, but not least, he whose memory we desire to perpetuate to day in the fine operating room which you will shortly enter Mr. James Wood, took his departure for that farther shore "hence none return. Time goes fast, especially in Colwyn Bay, and already there arc many here who know but little of the strenuous work Mr. James Wood did for us in those early days. Mr. Walter Whitehead, who indeed has followed in Mr. James Wood's footsteps, has added to those humanist quali- ties common to both men an expert know- ledge of the necessities of the case which has been a priceless boon to its When you presently enter the new operating room, you wilt find it such as to meet the most exact- ing ref/mrements ot tin- modern aseptic surgeon. l-lenceforth the maladies ol the poor of Colwyn Hay may be dealt with here where thc\' live, and are in touch with their friends with all the safeguards and with all the prospect of successful recovery that could be got at the great hospitals of Manches- ter or Liverpool. And why not ? We have the ablest of surgeons, we have the most careful of nurses, and it is but fitting that Ave should give them the best of places for their work. It was due to Mr. James Wood, and it was due to 11-)e people whom he loved, that the mon umen t to his memory should be erected. From the first he took the Co- Secretaryship with Dr. Wood, who is still with us, and in a word, it is to his never ceasing exertions, his tactful insistence in the face of difficulties, that we owe the exist- ence of this institution. And it was not all smooth sailing. The initial dilficultv of a site was solved for us by the sympathetic kindness of the lady on whom the chief role in to-day's proceedings devolves. (Hear. hear.) But there was money to be got, and it was Mr. James Wood who, by his persist- ent work in the cause, ever pushing yet never offending, <Ot the precious metal together, which you see to-day transformed into bricks and stones, slates and timber. Mr. James Wood was the Hospital I If he stopped you in the street, if you saw his handwriting on an envelope, it he looked in to tea on a Sun- day afternoon. the odds were great that, it. wis the- Hospital that wits in his miiicl, some matter affecting the welfare of the suffer- ing poor that was in his heart. (Applause.) And with it all there was a modesty, a self- effacement, a giving wav to the views of others that called forth the admiration and affection of all of us. (Hear, hear.) Mr. James Wood is gone, and we shall not look upon his like again. His was an impressive personality, and it was fitting that his mem- ory should receive a great tribute. Between us—the Board oi the Hospital that is and his old boys (and never yet was the memorv of a schoolmaster enshrined more reverently in the hearts of his pupils) a good round sum was raised. For years the need of a better operating room had been recognised, and the need was expressed in the report for 1902. [ Timidly, with but little idea of modern doc. tors' requirements and their expensive pro- clivities in such matters—-(laughter), we decided to build one, hut there was a man wanted, the man just as at the inception ot the scheme in 1897. My colleagues had done me the honour to ask me to succeed to the Honorary Secretaryship; but for that per- sistence in carrying out a plan, that constant gathering 01 a great thought, that tireless energy in exciting the interest and sympathy of those to whom the shekels are entrusted, as well as for the necessary leisure -lor all I those virtues, Colwyn Bay and this hospital are indebted to him whose services we de- sire to commemorate in a worthy manner, and this with the ungrudging assistance of his friends and the people of Colwyn Bav, Ave believe we have done. (Applause.) T HA My INC THE HON. ARCHITECTS. Air. David Lewis, C.C., proposed a heartv vote of thanks to the honorary architects, Messrs. Porter ct Elcock, Colwyn Bay. They had spent an immense amount ot time in drawing plans and superintending the work, all of which was done entirely free of charge. The Board of Management felt deeply grate- ful to them. (Applause.) Mr. F. seconded, and it was carried. Mr. Ernest Elcock, in responding, thanked the company tor the vote ol thanks, and said that they could not fully realise the enormous service that could be gained by the operating theatre. Nothing within it was out ot date or old-fashioned. The Hospital by this theatre had gained a good private ward, and the sanitary fittings 01 the institution had been overhauled and a bathroom added. Everything was first class. (Applause.) THE OPEN INC. CEREMONY. In the presence of a large number of med- ical and the hospital stati-, the Countess Dundonald, who was accompanied by l.advj can Cochrane, was presented by Mr. Whitehead with a gold key, and opened the door leading from the corridor to the theatre. The room was soon filled. Countess Dundonald, who was received with applause, said it gave her the greatest pleasure to he present to periorm that Iltnc- tion, as she was exceedingly interested in that movement. (-\pnlause.) There was a movement throughout the country in which his late Majesty King Edward was con- cerned, and which resulted in His Majesty having his own hospital fund, and which had been a wonderful success. (Applause.) That room they were in was a model room, and in it there was everything that modern science in surgery required. It reflected the greatest credit upon all concerned, and they were to be congratulated upon their work. She hoped the hospital would prosper, for it filled a need, a very great need, and would be more widely used as the popula- tion grew in the district. She thanked them for her kind reception. (Applause.) Mr. David Gamble proposed a vote of thanks to Countess pundonald, who was good enough to give them the land. (Ap- plause.) He also wished to say that the opeiationg table before them was presented by Mr. Nunn. (Applause.) The Rev. T. M. Jones seconded, and said the hospital was incomparable as a cottage hospital in North Wales. He hoped the opening of the new door would be the door of hone to many anxious and suffering pa- tients. (Applause.) Countess Dundonald then presented a key to each member of the medical and dental professions and to the matron. A vote of thanks to the chairman con- cluded the ceremonial proceedings, after which tea was served. A description of the new building will appear in ou rnext issue.

Llanrwst Education Authority.

Penmaenmawr High School.

---.-.. Festiniog versus Llanrwst.I

The N.S.P.C.C. at Conway.


Christmastide at11 Colwyn…

Christmas at the Shops.J

-......... Llanrwst Drowning…



Markets and Fairs.