Fascinating NHS archives now available
People in the strath are being urged to access a “priceless and fascinating” archive which offers a unique insight into health services in the Highlands from the 18th Century to the present day.
The NHS Highland Archive, housed in the Highland Archive Centre in Inverness, is one of the biggest collections of its kind in the country and is made up of records from hospitals, public health administrations, NHS boards, management committees, executive councils and county insurance committees.
And in what amounts to some 150 linear metres of shelving, the archives contains some true gems, including the Royal Northern Infirmary records, which documents its history from 1799 through to its demise with the expansion of Raigmore Hospital in the 1980s.
But perhaps the most moving part of the archives is the ‘Register of Lunatics’ and doctors’ case notes from Craig Dunain Psychiatric Hospital, which opened as the Northern Counties Lunatic Asylum in May 1864.
The case notes reveal heart-wrenching tales of patients whose supposed cause of insanity ranged from greed and fright to “disappointment in marriage” and “religious excitement”.
The NHS Highland Archive – effectively three furniture lorry loads of records – has been housed at the Highland Archive Centre for the past 18 months.
More on this in next week's Strathy.
