A study of a provincial ear, nose and throat service in a British city prior to the National Health Service: Nottingham and South Nottinghamshire (1886-1947)

Abstract

Background It was in twentieth-century Britain that the two distinct surgical disciplines, otology and laryngology, became united under the title oto-laryngology. Aural departments were established in general hospitals in the hands of specialists long before throat departments. The development and politics of the specialty occurred in London, while provincial services commenced in the early eighteenth century, with ophthalmologists, setting up a clinic or dispensary, progressing onto a hospital. Methods The following resources were used: the Nottinghamshire Archives; Manuscripts and Special Collections at the University of Nottingham Libraries and The Local Studies Library, Nottingham Central Library. Results The Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Hospital for Diseases of the Throat, Ear and Nose was established in 1886, staffed by part-time general practitioners. The Nottingham Children's Hospital appointed two qualified surgeons in the 1910s and subsequently the General Nottingham Hospital appointed them as honorary assistant surgeons. Both hospitals provided access to beds, not available to the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Hospital for Diseases of the Throat, Ear and Nose. Following The Education Act of 1907, Nottingham created a School Health Services. By the 1920s, Nottingham had four institutions providing clinical and surgical ENT services. The National Hospitals Survey conducted in 1945 recommended that the Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Hospital for Diseases of the Throat, Ear and Nose be closed and amalgamated with The General Hospital Nottingham. Conclusion The General Hospital Nottingham was slow to create a service for the diagnosis and treatment of ENT diseases and disorders, but established a Departmental Service by 1927. The surgical staffing was common to all four of the ENT services from mid-1930.