Twenty curious Loreto students set off across the Pennines to learn some medical history, experience the smells and sounds of a poor Victorian street scene and explore the galleries and artefacts at the wonderful Thackray Medical Museum, which was once a hospital and is now adjacent to one of the current teaching hospitals in Leeds city centre.

Watching a re-enactment of an amputation, without either antispetics or anaesthetics, was all part of the visit but fortunately the really gory details were omitted, or at least left to one’s imagination.  Some of us enjoyed the galleries intended for younger visitors, whilst others were fascinated by the displays of old instruments and illustrations.  Certainly, one could not help but be impressed by the mission of some of the men and women who strived to make healthcare better and particularly for the poor.  Let’s hope our Loreto students will follow in their footsteps in the years to come, making their mark in this world as people who strive for excellence and put people first.

Photo shows a 1950s Dental Surgery.