air – Sensing Spaces of Healthcare: NHS Sensory Memory Bank

Memory #27

From 1971

I remember… Going to hospital as a 9 year old to visit my dad, in a hospital I ended up working in. Whenever I passed the window where he would wave to us from the ward, and would always think of him, which would make me sad as an adult as I was older than him then (he died of cancer). As part of his treatment he got transferred to a hospital (1971) in a different area … We went to visit him on the respiratory ward – the other hospital was a workhouse but this one was modern – it seemed very airy. The windows seemed bigger with lots of sunlight, the workhouse one seemed to me as a child to be dark. I didn’t like leaving him there. If you go to 5 hospitals in a 10 mile radius, they all have a different atmosphere and their own way of doing things.

Memory #31

From 1970s

I remember… The sounds of beeps and alarms going through the night, banging doors – they didn’t have automatic doors then! / Views from the windows over rooftops – on the outskirts of a major city. Sash windows that opened with fresh air – a bit cold but you just huddled under bedclothes!

Memory #39

I remember… Goosebumps on my arms as cool sterile air blew past me. Curiosity matched with anxiety as I rush down endless angular corridors. Smells like stale bleach. People are either nice or miserable.