 Our Local Hospitals (A First-hand Account)In the good old days, we had four hospitals and a sanatorium in Hastings (not including the White Rock Hospital). They were: St Helens, with a workhouse built in 1837; The Buchanan built in 1881; Eversfield Chest Hospital built in 1884; the sanatorium in Frederick Road built in 1903; and the Royal East Sussex built in 1923. We had two A&E departments – one in St Helens and the other in Royal East Sussex. 
I had the pleasure of visiting all except the Eversfield. In 1930 I went to the Buchanan to visit my grandfather, who was dying. In 1934 I was in the Royal East Sussex for three months with a broken thigh in traction. In 1937 I was in the Sanatorium for septicemia, in a coma – it was touch and go for a week and I stayed three months. Then in 1957 I was in St Helens A&E having my arm sewn up after sticking my elbow through a window. And in 1972 in the Royal East Sussex A&E aftersticking a screwdriver in my eye. And now we have just the Conquest and believe it or not, in 1998 I was in there with a heart attack. All this talk about Eastbourne or Hastings losing the A&E or maternity units... you can see we were definitely better off for hospitals in the Good Old Days! Thanks for this month's local memory to |
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