Whatever else is contained in the memories of the nurses interviewed for Nurses’ Voices, at some point in many of them there is reference to flooding the sluice, cleaning out sputum mugs and even occasionally cockroaches and rats.
Particularly in the 1930s, 40s and 50s there is much emphasis on the importance of cleaning and the large part that it played in nurse training, especially in PTS. Nurses were battling with infection and sometimes infestation together with their personal phobias and yet they recall these memories with humour and affection.
Our transcribers have enjoyed listening to some of these stories and we thought you would enjoy them too.
We have also included in this theme a series of amusing sketches drawn by Vivien when she was a probationer (student nurse) in 1940.
You can listen to some of the interview extracts used in the case study through the theme; 'Cockroaches, Rats and the Sluice' on this website.