The Postcard
A postcard bearing no publisher's name that was posted in Clacton-on-Sea using a ½d. stamp on Monday the 25th. July 1910. It was sent to:
Miss J. Jennett,
Post House,
Dorchester,
Nr. Wallingford,
Berks.
The pencilled message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"23, Hayes Road,
Clacton-on-Sea.
25/7/10.
Dear Jan,
I expect you have heard
I am at Clacton, and
having a very nice time.
We have had plenty of
showers here - strong
ones too, but they soon
clear up.
Give my love to all,
Your affectionate cousin
Annie."
Drownings in Hungary
So what else happened on the day that Annie posted the card to Jan?
Well, on the 25th. July 1910, a sudden downpour in the Hungarian town of Diósd caused flash flooding of the Danube River, drowning at least 25 people.
North Middlesex University Hospital
Also on the 25th. July 1910, the North Middlesex University Hospital opened.
North Middlesex University Hospital, known locally as North Mid, is a district general hospital in Edmonton in the London Borough of Enfield.
-- History of the Hospital
The hospital was originally established as the infirmary for the workhouse at Langhedge Field. When it opened it was separated from the workhouse itself by an iron fence, although the two shared a common gate, which still stands today.
In 1915 the complex was handed over to the military for use as a military hospital, when it became known as Edmonton Military Hospital.
Following its transfer back into civilian hands in 1920, the hospital became the North Middlesex Hospital.
In 1934 the hospital was the first British hospital to appoint a radiotherapist (Margaret Bromhall) to lead a radiotherapy department.
In 1938 the workhouse closed, with inmates being transferred to Chase Farm, and its buildings were made available to the hospital.
During the Second World War, six high explosive bombs fell on the site, damaging several buildings. Upon the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948, Southgate Isolation Hospital became an annexe of the North Middlesex, and was renamed Greentrees Hospital.
The accident and emergency department opened in 1955, having been built on the bombed section of the site. A new outpatients' department was officially opened by Princess Margaret in April 1960.
Part of the hospital site was cleared to make way for the expansion of the North Circular Road in 1973, with the Watermill Lane site being added to the hospital grounds to compensate. Construction of the buildings there was completed the following year.
Additions in the 1980's included new pathology laboratories in 1982, a new car park, boilerhouse and estates offices in 1987, and the Pymmes Building (housing four elderly care wards) in 1988.
Temporary operating theatres (Theatres 3 and 4) were constructed in 1991 and 1992, respectively.
In the late 1990's, parts of the hospital site were sold off for development in order to raise funds for the refurbishment of the remaining facilities. As a result, the accident and emergency department was refitted in 1999. In 2000, an NHS Walk-in centre was added.
The hospital became the North Middlesex University Hospital in 2001.
New facilities, including a new diagnostic centre, inpatient wards, operating theatres, an outpatients' department and an Accident & Emergency department, were procured under a Private Finance Initiative to replace the aging facilities in October 2007.
A new women's and children's unit was established under the Procure 21 Plus initiative; it was built by Kier Group at a cost of £80 million, and opened in November 2013.
-- The Hospital's Performance
The Trust did poorly in the cancer patient experience survey of 2015/6, and agreed to pair up with Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, which did very well. The pairing was intended to spread and accelerate innovative practice via peer to peer support and learning”.
Eleven trainee anaesthetists were withdrawn from the trust by Health Education England in September 2015 because they were not receiving adequate supervision. The General Medical Council had been raising concerns since 2009.
In the last quarter of 2015 the hospital had one of the worst performances of any hospital in England against the four-hour waiting target, and in January it was the worst, seeing just 66.4% of A&E patients within 4 hours.
The hospital was ordered by the Care Quality Commission in June 2016 to improve the performance of its Accident and Emergency Department. The inspectors found:
"There are delays in the initial assessment of
patients, in their assessment by a doctor, and
in moving them to specialist wards.
There are also insufficient middle grade
doctors and consultants.”
In February 2020 the Care Quality Commission praised the continuing improvements in the Accident and Emergency department at North Middlesex University Hospital in an inspection report. England's Chief Inspector of Hospitals, Professor Ted Baker, said:
"Care provided at the North Middlesex
University Hospital emergency department
has continued to improve, and I am pleased
to see it".
