Inspired by a hospital with such great stories to tell
Writer’s labour of love is a play about the experiences of women whose lives were
THERE will be few women who grew up on Glasgow’s South Side who don’t have a connection with the Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women.
Maybe they were born there, maybe their mum, sister, aunt or grandmother was treated there – the stories are countless.
Scriptwriter Paul Moore was quick to spot the potential for telling the story of the Govanhill building.
He had been planning to gather the tales of women who made up the hospital’s history since early 2000.
But it was only last year he got to work to ask former staff and patients to come forward – and he was swamped.
Paul said: “For more than 100 years the Samaritans was the place to go for women with medical and gynaecological issues for the South Side of Glasgow.
“The Samaritans had a unique setting, right in the middle of one of Glasgow’s most densely populated and vibrant communities, Govanhill.
“So many women across generations were treated there that I knew there would be plenty of stories to tell so I wanted to do something creative and positive, specifically for these women.
“It wasn’t long before I had more than 250 stories from as far away as Australia, America and the Canary Islands, as well as women still living in Glasgow.”
Now the stories form the basis for Paul’s play A Dose of Blushes - and he is working with Govanhill Housing Association to create an archive of stories, the Women’s Heritage Archive of The Samaritans Hospital (WHASH).
Paul, who is Artistic Director of the Arts Enigma and TRAM Direct, added: “The play ran in The Shed, in Shawlands, and was a hugely emotional moment for a lot of the women who came to see it.
“I knew that we had to do something with all these amazing stories so I approached Govanhill Community Development Trust and the idea for WHASH was born.”
The outpouring of sentiment when it became clear the Victorian Infirmary would be demolished made it plain how attached people in Glasgow become to their hospitals.
And the Samaritans is no different.
The institution was first set up in Hutchensontown in 1886 on Cumberland Street and was a small unit of eight beds for poor women.
In 1893 a decision was taken to build a proper hospital on a new site and so ground on Coplaw Street was purchased with architects Ninian McWhannell and John Rogerson commissioned to prepare designs.
Work began in 1894 and the west ward block and administration block were the first two to be completed, opening on September 11 1896.
It was an impressive building, designed to be a modern adaptation of the 17th century Scottish Renaissance style with colourful brick walls and high pitched roofs.
The gable facing the street is complete with Art Nouveau features.
In 1897 the Dispensary was added at the back, and in 1905 then 1924 two more ward blocks were built.
The final section of the hospital was begun in 1904
‘‘ The play was a hugely emotional moment for a lot of the women who came to see it
and completed in 1931, the nurses home of the corner of Coplaw Street and Victoria Road.
It still has the original sign above the main entrance, reading the Alice Mary Corbett Memorial Nurses’ Home.
The Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women had 30 beds in 1896 and 83 by 1907.
A second new wing increased this to 156 in 1927.
A fundraising pamphlet for the hospital tells that in 1936 it was the “largest institution in the United Kingdom for the treatment of Women’s Diseases and the demands on its resources continually increase.”
The leaflet says in 1886, 272 patients were treated and the expenditure was £276, 9 shillings 8 pence.
In 1936, in-patients numbered 3344 and outpatients 6542, a total of 9886.
It adds, the cost of maintenance was £20,906 and the deficit of ordinary income was £3693.
In 1936, on June 1, a new