Sensing Spaces of Healthcare

I remember… Training in Radiography in what had been the mortuary of the hospital. Its vast ceiling meant that the office was on a type of gallery in the middle. It was quite daunting.

I remember… When I was a child I had my appendix out. You were wheeled outside in the rain to your operation!

I remember… I was a nurse in London in the 1960s … My immediate memory is of calm, the peace & quiet at 3am on night duty. Contrast with how noisy a different hospital was in 1996 when I took my mother in. Chaos! The shops & the people & the noise now in the main entrance. So busy – like a shopping centre. I needed calm and efficiency.

I remember… Coming around after an operation and general anaesthetic. I had never experienced an operation before so this was a very unusual feeling. I remember the nurse getting tapping my shoulder and her saying “you are ok, it is safe to open your eyes”. I was still very groggy, but I knew I was safe & secure, even though I had not fully come out of the ‘FOG’ of anaesthetic.

I remember… My wife was expecting our second child. We had to go to the hospital halfway through TV. We rushed into the maternity unit, we rushed to the delivery room and they said “put on a gown you’ll need it”. From leaving home, the first was 7 minutes later!