THE ROYAL Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is marking 185 years since its founding with a symposium next month.
Built on land donated by former Prime Ministger Lord Sidmouth, the the Royal Berkshire Hospital first opened its doors in 1839, 48 years before Nye Bevan was born.
It held fifty beds and was staffed by a team of just ten people: four day nurses, a night nurse, a house surgeon, an apothecary, a matron, a secretary, and a chaplain.
It took two days for the first patient to arrive, a 15-year-old railway worker who suffered a severe compound fracture to the upper arm, while helping to build the Great Western Railway lines.
His arm required amputation at the shoulder, a risky procedure to undertake at the time, and stayed in the hospital for two months while recovering.
The hospital’s first year saw a budget for just over £430 (equivalent to around £64,600 in 2024), of which £27 was spent on leeches, and a further £91 on beer.
In 2024, the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is made up of a team of nearly 7,000 people across seven sites and serves a community of a million people.
The emergency department treats a person every three minutes and a baby is born in the maternity unit once every two hours.
Now the Royal Berkshire Hospital Medical Museum is hosting a symposium featuring talks on a range of topics spanning nearly 200 years, from the development of the prosthetic shoulder, to the Victorian Sick Room.
Richard Havelock, Chair of the Hospital’s Museum, said: “The Royal Berkshire Hospital has an amazing clinical and cultural history, from the remarkable, to the everyday.
“It’s awe inspiring to think of those original doctors and nurses, and what they accomplished before the things we take for granted like antibiotics and anaesthetic. Since opening all those years ago, it’s no exaggeration to say millions of people have had their lives touched by the care provided here.
“And it’s a privilege to share some of those stories, and achievements through the Medical Museum, and at the History Symposium we hold each year. Knowing we are marking its 185th anniversary will make this one just a little bit more special.”
The symposium takes place on Saturday, November2, from 9.30am to 1.15pm.
More information and booking is available via: royalberkshire.nhs.uk/about-us/medical-museum
