Pope Hospital - Helmsdale.org

Pope Hospital Helmsdale.

OPENED BY MRS SYKES,
DORNOCH CASTLE.

Large Gathering Present.

In matters of benevolence people
are greatly influenced by precedents. It is well that it, should be so, and that the large heartedness of one individual should tend to produce the same thing in others. In the founding and endowment of hospitals, precedent has had more than ordinary weight. The motives and feelings, which prompted Major-General Pope, C.B., of the Bombay Army, to leave sufficient money in trust for the erection of a Hospital in his native parish, in order that suffering humanity might benefit, should undoubtedly inspire others to give freely towards its .maintenance.The building is an imposing edifice and is well equipped in every way.

The Opening Ceremony.
When the opening ceremony was graciously performed by Mrs. Sykes of Dornoch Castle, on Saturday afternoon, quite a gathering assembled round the building. On her arrival, Mrs Sykes, who was accompanied by Miss Mould, was enthusiastically cheered.The proceedings were presided over by Dr A B. Scott, who gave an interesting history of: the founder and his trust. At the outset be read an apology from Sir A. N. Macaulay, Golspie, and intimated that others had intimated regret at their inability to be present. Giving an account of the trust and its purpose, Dr Scott said the intended capital was £5,000. Difficulties arose, and as a result of these the actual amount available was £3,946 the sum of £l, 640 was paid on 7th July 1919, and a further sum of. £2,306 was received on 21st March, 1928. By 15th: October, 1929, the capital; was built up to £5,000. Thereafter a building fund was formed, and. £300 generously given by Mr George Couper, The Haven, Inverness, enabled them to go on and build. The hospital was planned in conformity 'with the requirements of the Department of Health. It was interesting, said Dr Scott, to give and account of the Pope family. Major-General Pope of Bombay Army, was born at Navidale, and died or was buried in London in 1886. Charlotte Baigrie, his wife, was born at Mid-Garty. She died and was buried at Heidelberg; Germany, in 1883. They had two sons Robert Sutherland was a lieutenant in the Bombay Army and died .there in 1856. George Sutherland, also a lieutenant in the Bombay Army, died and was .buried at the Cape of Good Hope in 1856."The last note", said Dr. Scott, is most pathetic.'' The Chairman touched on the good work done in connection with the hospital by. Councillor C. B., Simpson and Dr G. A. Macdonald, both of whom went wholeheartedly into the parts assigned to them. The public of the parish owed these gentlemen a great debt of gratitude. He had to acknowledge £100 from the trustees of the late Mr R. J. FraserDr Scott complimented all the con-tractors on the very capable way in which they had executed their respective tasks If he ha' missed any body out this was .through inadvertence and not through desire. In. introducing Mrs Sykes of Dornoch Castle, who to them was Mrs Sykes of Borrobol, the Chairman said she had grown up as one of themselves, and it was peculiarly interesting that she should open their new hospital, as Mrs Sykes took a deep interest in the cause of aid and healing all her life. She had restored the church at Kildonan, and they had to bless her for this as for many more things as well. An interesting point in the day’s proceedings .was that the salver used to carry the golden key was the actual salver used by General Pope himself. Walking round to the front door Mrs Sykes inserted the key and opened it. She said she had pleasure in opening the building, which was one which would serve a useful purpose in the parish. The key was handed to Mrs Sykes by MR D. E. A. Horne, of Messrs Horne & Murray, architects, Golspie. In moving a vote of thanks to Mrs Sykes, Mr J. O. Levack said they all remembered her many acts of goodness with gratitude. Mr Tolmie of the Free Church, read a portion of, Scripture, and thereafter Dr Scott engaged in a short prayer of dedication. The opening ceremony was a simple yet touching one; and on its completion those present were privileged to walk through the building and inspect the interior, which is beautifully completed in harmonising colours. Now that the parish of Kildonan is the proud possessor of a fully equipped dispensary hospital, a hospital which will be a boon and blessing, the hope is expressed that its maintenance will be met by voluntary effort. As a commencement, the Helmsdale Branch of the S. W. R. I., led by Mrs Couper, held a highly successful sale of work on Saturday.

Thanks

The Chairman wishes to convey his thanks publicly to the ladies and gentlemen who have supported the hospital and its equipment.Public recognition is also made of the sympathetic co-operation of Mr. John Ross (convener) and the Public Health Committee; of Dr Simpson, Miss Eggie, and the County Nursing Association; of Mr. Macdonald and Nurse Sinclair who have been untiring in their services.

SCOTT TAKES A LAST LOOK AT A VERY SPECIAL HOSPITAL

It cost more than £4000 to bring little Scott Fielding into the world.
Scott, now 15 months old, has the distinction of being the last baby to be booked into the tiny General Pope Hospital at Helmsdale in Sutherland, for birth.

The last baby to be booked into the Pope Hospital

Now the economic axe has fallen and the hospital with its part-time staff are redundant.

The reason that forced the Highland Health Board to take this decision was the £17,000-a-year running costs. And in the last year with only four babies being born, it worked out at over £4000 a time.

Even in earlier years, with around 17 babies a year costs were pretty high.

When they heard about the closure, Scott and his mum, Mrs Ann Fielding, travelled to Helmsdale from their home in Brora for a final visit, and the staff were delighted to see how well their last official baby was progressing.

There to meet him were: Dr Alistair Davidson, Mrs Ishbel McRae the Sister in Charge, Mrs Catherine Mackay the Cook, Mrs Nancy Rapson the Ward Maid, and Mrs Nancy Macleod the Ward Orderly.

These ladies leave their homes and take up their duties when a baby is due.

There was another special visitor when Mrs Fielding called -Miss Christina Sinclair, from Halkirk, Caithness, who was the first midwife and Sister in Charge when the hospital opened in 1945.
Miss Sinclair said "There will be a lot of sadness that our hospital has closed. It was opened with money left by a General Pope who was involved in the Indian Mutiny and for the mothers-to-be in this area, it was like a home from home".
"To say they got individual treatment would be putting it mildly. But eventually the costs just got too high".
Mrs Macrae said " From now on, women will have to go to Inverness or Thurso to have their babies although efforts are being made for an emergency service at the Lawson Memorial Hospital in Golspie.

Dr A Davidson, G.P. and some of the staff.
Back Row: L/R
Mrs N Rapson, Mrs N Macleod, Nursing Auxiliaries

Front Row:L/R
Mrs I Macrae, Midwife
Mrs L Mackay, Midwife
Mrs O Stone, Midwife
Dr A Davidson, G.P.
Mrs K Mackay, Cook
Mrs M Campbell, Nursing Superintendent

Pope Maternity Hospital Helmsdale
(February 4, 1977)

It is estimated that every baby born in the four-bed General Pope Maternity Hospital at Helmsdale this year could cost the National Health Service £680 – the highest charge in Scotland.
This is one of the statistics produced by the Highland Health Board in their case for closing down the maternity unit in Helmsdale and transferring all emergency confinements to the Lawson Hospital in Golspie.
In a letter to Mr Jack MacLeod, secretary of the Sutherland Health Council, the Board say they are asking their officers to consider if arrangements can be made at the Lawson Hospital to allow mothers confined there or in Inverness and Thurso to complete their lying-in period.

THE GENERAL POPE HOSPITAL. HELMSDALE, SUTHERLAND
originally called The Helmsdale Dispensary Hospice 1935 - 1973.

My account of this Hospital is based largely on interviews with the elderly of Helmsdale, Sutherland, some of whom are in their nineties, the General Practitioner who served the Hospital for thirty years and the local historian. A great deal of the early documentation was housed in the office of the Local Registrar and Village Officer. Unfortunately, when Regionalization was introduced in 1974 this joint post was disbanded and the lady, who has since died, was reputed to have set fire to most of the documentation. This incident happened on her last day in post shortly after her farewell party, when it is claimed she made her final gesture in defiance of officialdom.

The Hospital was opened in 1935 in "the same year as electric light was introduced to the Village. The Hospital was erected to serve the needy of the Parish of Kildonan and Helmsdale which (at that time) had a population of 1,203, consisting of a Fishing and Crofting community. The community had a reputation for looking after its own poor and needy, those who were required to be housed were sent to Migdale, at Bonar Bridge, some forty miles south of Helmsdale, the local Poor House having been closed many years previous.

General Pope of The Bombay Army, a native of Helmsdale, being aware of the poverty and hardship of the times, felt a compassionate need to try and alleviate the conditions of the Villagers, and on his death in 1886, he left sufficient money in trust to erect a Hospital in order that the suffering of the Parish should benefit.

The intended capital was £5,000. However, difficulties arose and the actual amount was £3,946. In order to meet the deficit, a Building Fund was formed and after a further generous donation, work began with a clause stating that the Hospital must be planned to conform to the Department of Health requirements. The Architect and Contractors were all local men and the bricks used for the building came from the brickworks in Brora, a Village eleven miles south of Helmsdale. The brick had a reddish tinge and when the building was completed, it resembled an attractive English-type cottage. The building was sited in its own grounds and nestled under Helmsdale Rock which is a local landmark.

The Hospital was opened by Lady Sykes on the 1st August, 1935. It had five beds; two female beds, two male beds for care of the elderly and a maternity room with one bed. The beds for the elderly were already occupied before the official opening date.

For the following eleven years until 1946, the Hospital was maintained by voluntary efforts, supervised by the Local General Practitioner and District Nurse. The Hospital cared for many of Helmsdale's destitute and elderly. The maternity bed was only used for premature or difficult births. The majority of women, because they were not on the Doctor's panel, had their babies in their own home and were usually attended by a lay-person who, because of years of experience of childbirth, was deemed to be the local midwife.

After the implementation of The National Health Act in 19U6, the Hospital was closed for three months. During my interviews with some of the elderly villagers, this is the point where the interview dropped to a whisper. The reason for the closure was rumored to be that the last lady to give birth in the Hospital had been fraternizing with a fleet of incoming herring fisherman (not belonging to Helmsdale of course) and had contacted a variety of venereal disease, causing the Hospital to require three months fumigation.

The true facts were that the Hospital was taken over by the National Health Service and a decision was made to change the Hospital into a Maternity Hospital, the only one in Sutherland. After refurbishing the Hospital was opened under the new name of The General Pope Maternity Hospital. The new Style Hospital had five beds, a labour room, laundry and kitchen facilities and was staffed by a resident Matron, four Ward Auxiliaries, and one Cook, with the local General Practitioner in attendance.

To the dismay of the local population, the Hospital was closed in 1973» because it was not regarded as a viable proposition by the Highland Health Board. Since its closure, the women of Helmsdale and the surrounding district travel a round trip of eighty miles to Wick or one hundred and sixty miles to Inverness, in order to have their child born in a Hospital. During the years between 1935 and 1973, there were 1,802 children born in The General Pope Maternity Hospital.

After the Hospital closed, the people of Helmsdale pressured the Highland Health Board into renovating the building in order to give the Village a Health Centre. Unfortunately, the Highland Health Board would not entertain the idea. The Social Work Department then toyed with the idea of renting the building and using it as a detoxification centre. This plan was also discarded. Finally, after protest meetings from the Villagers, who felt that the building should be given back to the community, the Highland Health Board sold the Hospital.

The Hospital is now a private dwelling and feelings still run high among the Villagers who feel that the monies received from the sale, should have been given to the Village