Dr Dick in Earby

[Stanley]

Dr Dick in Earby

This article 1st appeared in the Winter 2000 Edition of the “EARBY CHRONICLES”
Memories of an Earby G.P.
In July 2000 Margaret Brown was invited by Dr. Gordon Dick and his wife to visit their home to take photos of their house and to see some of the original fittings.
Dr. Dick was General Practitioner in Earby during the 1950s and 60s. Now an elderly man he gave an interesting account of his life as a G.P. He lives in the house now called "The Crossing". The house was built in 1899/1900 by Dr. Falconer but he called it "Harrington House". It has always been a doctor's house and the Drs. Arthur and Kim Morrison bought it from Dr. Falconer. It then passed to Dr. Dick when he joined the Drs. Morrison in their practice on Water Street in 1956.
The house still retains many of its original features which include a special door-bell on the side door for patient's. This would be used by callers when the surgery was closed and at night. Originally the bell had a speaking tube the mouth-piece of which is still insitu in the door surround and is shown in the photograph below. This connected the caller with the Doctor's bedroom directly above the door.
The house also has a very imposing hall-way and stairs, the floor of which still has its original tiles. The walls are clad in wooden panelling and the vestibule door has a handsome painting on the glass door panel. The house was obviously built to be a "gentleman's" residence, and was designed to impress. There is still the servant's call bell system in the kitchen, though no servant now!. When built the live in servant slept in the attic.
Built next to the railway line the occupier was charged a window tax by the railway company for all the windows that looked over the railway. In 1964 Dr. Dick was charged 1s 6d, he still has the receipt!
As the house is also next to the crossings, he had to attend to many accidents which happened there. Often these where motorcyclists who got their wheels stuck in the tracks causing them to fall off.
The surgery was held in the downstairs room at the left of the building.
At the surgery there were no appointments, all patients had to wait their turn but no one was turned away the doctor would see all who waited. After he would carry out all his home visits. At night he would be on call every night although he did not have as many night calls as doctors do now. He thinks this is perhaps because most people did not have a telephone, someone would have to go to the doctor to request a visit. It was not as handy to call the doctor as today.
Up until the start of the N.H.S. in 1948 people had to pay for a visit so it was only in dire emergencies that the doctor would be called out. Even in the 50s and 60s people still felt that the doctor should not be called unnecessarily. People have much higher expectations these days.
I asked Dr. Dick if he found it very tiring doing night calls, then running a surgery the following day; he said "no and most people get too much sleep anyway. It was only like being a parent with a small child who kept them awake". I also asked him what other changes had happened over the years. He said that when he first came to Earby he carried out Smallpox vaccinations, by putting the vaccine on the skin, which was then pricked with a needle allowing the vaccine to enter the body. This was said to have "taken" if the skin blistered within 10 days. There where many other epidemics of measles, mumps and chicken pox and other infectious diseases. He also treated more pneumonia's and chest complaints in those days. The surgery did not have a dispensary but used the chemists shop on Victoria Road, opposite the Co-op. This was bought by Moorhouses hardware store but is now a private house.
The maternity services were provided by the Christiana Hartley home in Colne, with the local midwifery services provided by Nurse Crabtree, but as she lived in Colne this must have resulted in many emergency home births. Dr. Dick said that he always preferred mothers to have a hospital birth where ever possible as he felt that this was much safer for both mother and child.
Do any readers remember using the speaking tube to summon the doctor ? Or of sitting in the waiting room for their turn to see him?
I would like to thank Dr. and Mrs. Dick for their time and for a very interesting afternoon.
Margaret Brown. September 2000.
Edited by - Mixman on 22 Sep 2004 21:04:14