Publish date: 6 September 2024
Community hospital opens museum exhibition dedicated to its healthcare history
An exhibition which explores the history of healthcare in Berwick and its surrounding communities has opened at Berwick Infirmary.
‘Keeping Berwick Healthy’ has been co-curated with Museums Northumberland as part of their Femmer to Firmer project and displays medical artefacts from both a professional and domestic setting from the early 1900s to the 1960s.
The project aims to work closely with local communities to shape the future of Museums Northumberland’s collections. A Community Advisory panel and a team of local volunteers have worked to bring collections outside of museums and into community settings.
This community-driven exhibition takes inspiration from the construction of the new hospital. This prompted research into the history of healthcare provision in Berwick, including prevalent diseases from the past and the social conditions that impacted upon people’s daily life and health.
To support the artefacts on display, a historical trail map of Berwick’s hospitals over a period of almost 800 years was commissioned by illustrator and designer Daniel Weatheritt.
Marion Dickson, Executive Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professionals, and Executive Director for Surgery and Community Services said: “The artefacts on display have sparked a lot of interest amongst patients, staff and visitors which has led to conversations about the way that healthcare for our community has been transformed and much improved over the years.
“The development of the new hospital has been long awaited and is the next step in Berwick’s healthcare journey which will one day be an addition to the town’s history. It is also very special that such a modern and wonderful healthcare facility is built on a site of such archaeological and historical importance.”
Jemma Herring, Project Curator said: “Working with our Community Advisory Panel on this exhibition for Berwick Infirmary has been an inspiring experience. The choice of subject matter was entirely led by the community curators and I was impressed by their vision, ambition and enthusiasm.
“The local knowledge and interesting stories brought by all involved has resulted in an engaging and thought-provoking exhibition and it has been wonderful to see hospital staff and the public engaging so positively with the display already.”
Trish, one of the Community Panel Advisors added: “Being relatively new to the area, volunteering with the museum seemed a great way to learn more about local history. The building of the new hospital gave us the idea of looking at how people have kept healthy in Berwick over the ages and we felt local people and visitors would find it as fascinating as we did.
“We were able to get hands-on with medical artefacts in the museum collections, get them out into the community and display them in the hospital. Along with our research about social conditions and diseases in the past, and the creation of a walking trail of Berwick’s old hospitals from medieval times to nowadays, it seemed a good way to learn more about the challenges of life in the past and to explore Berwick from a different perspective.”
This exhibition has been organised by Northumbria Healthcare’s Bright charity, who have developed an award-winning healing arts programme to enhance the healthcare environment for patients, visitors, and staff.
Museums Northumberland’s Femmer to Firmer project is funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund, which is run by the Museums Association, funding projects that develop collections to achieve social impact.
The exhibition will be on display until 30 September 2024.