With Saint Patricks Day celebrations rife this week, thoughts of shamrocks, leprechauns and all things green come to mind.
But beyond the Emerald Isle’s national day, it’s colour of pride is carefully preserved in the museums collection. To be a part of the festivities, the CALHN Health Museum has curated a selection of items bearing hues of green.
Boyle Anaesthetic Machine
Also known as The Boyle apparatus, this machine helped administer anaesthesia to patients requiring surgery. It originally used ether, before its dangers to patients became known. The British Oxygen Company (BOC) made this model during the 1960s. Hospital staff at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital affectionately referred to it as “The Green Goddess”.
British anaesthetist Henry Boyle invented the original Boyle machine in 1917.
Gypsona Plaster of Paris
Plaster of Paris became a staple in modern hospitals after its first use in the early nineteenth century. Nurses typically prepared the plaster paste by mixing powder and water, applying it to bandages, and wrapping them around the affected area to set. They often assisted doctors in applying plaster.
By the 1930s, manufactured brands like Gypsona became widely used in South Australia.
Royal Adelaide Hospital Recreational Services – Weekend Winter Walks
The Royal Adelaide Hospital Recreation Services organised out-of-hours activities for hospital staff, focusing on live-in employees like nurses. This brochure promotes the upcoming weekend winter walks.
Ventilator – ‘Bird Mark 14’
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Anaesthetic Department purchased the Bird Mark 14 ventilator in the early 1970s. This pressure-cycled ventilator operated on the same principles as its predecessor, the Mark 8, but with more power. When paired with the Waterhouse ‘Bag in the Box,’ it became a popular anaesthetic ventilator among South Australian anaesthetists.
Dr. RG Waterhouse, a local anaesthetist, and Mr. G Cotton of CIG developed the Waterhouse ‘Bag in the Box’ in South Australia in 1963.
The CALHN Health Museum houses a collection of Bird Mark ventilators, from model 4 to 14.
To view the full collection, visit: https://ehive.com/collections/5254/health-museum-of-south-australia
Written by Anna Grigoriev, CALHN Health Museum