Tuberculosis is an infectious and very debilitating disease that affects the lungs. It was previously known as consumption because of weight loss suffered.
The planning for regional sanatoria to fight this disease in this country began in 1945 before streptomycin and other anti-tuberculosis drugs were anticipated. A Government Act of that year enabled the Department of Health to compulsorily buy land and property suitable for such hospitals. The original site chosen in Galway was the property of Col Joyce in Mervue. He and his wife came to an arrangement with the department for the sale of his eight acres and plans were being drawn up for the siting of 40 bedded units. However, the Redemptorists, whose house of studies was next door, objected, and so the search for another property began.
Sometime in 1945, Captain Wyndham Waithman and his wife Eileen had an unannounced visit to their house in Merlin Park from four gentlemen who explained that they were looking for a site as close as possible to Galway hospital and university, and that they had the power to purchase it compulsorily if necessary. The Waithmans were not impressed but eventually became resigned to the fact that they no longer owned their own land. They felt it was their civic duty to cooperate fully. Some time later a large official looking envelope arrived in their letterbox. Eileen watched as her husband opened it and read the contents. Two big tears rolled down his face as he looked at her and said, “Well, if we can save even one life, who are we to object?”
And so, the Waithmans moved out and the plans to build the Galway Regional Sanatorium (as it was first known ) were drawn up. It was one of the biggest building contracts ever placed in the country. Initial development such as roads, water, sewer mains, and heating ducts would cost almost a million pounds. The contractor was John Sisk. In 1950, Bishop Michael Browne blessed the site, the Minister for Health, Dr Noel Browne, laid the foundation stone and work on the construction of the buildings began.
By July 1952, four units comprising 160 beds were made available for the pulmonary tuberculosis patients from Woodlands, their transfer being made by the Order of Malta Ambulance Corps. By March 1953, six ward blocks were occupied by adult respiratory TB cases, and Woodlands was converted for the treatment of tubercular orthopaedic cases from the western region. When construction was completed in 1954, a total of 550 beds were available. By now, new drugs had dramatically shortened the duration of in-patient treatment for all forms of TB and there were already empty beds in some of the wards. In 1961, the number of available beds was increased to 636 under Dr JV Cussen.
The changing patterns of respiratory diseases meant that some of the units could be adapted for other purposes such as cardio-thoracic surgery and orthopaedics, and later 120 geriatric patients were transferred here from St Brendan’s Home in Loughrea.
The fight against TB was led by Dr Noel Browne. Both of his parents died from the disease and six of their seven children got TB, Noel being the only one to survive into adulthood. He became a doctor and decided that the best way for him to fight TB was to go into politics.
On the day he was elected to the Dáil, he became Minister for Health and began his vigorous attack on the disease. His downfall came when he introduced a ‘Mother and Child’ scheme in the Dáil which would have meant State funded healthcare for all mothers and children under 16. This was opposed by the bishops – they called it ‘socialised medicine’ – and medics who felt it would interfere with their ‘fee for service’ model on which their income depended. Browne was forced to resign as Minister but he will always be remembered as the man who successfully defeated the widespread disease of tuberculosis in this country.
Our aerial photograph was taken in 1953 by a Captain Morgan and was kindly given to us by the National Library. It is interesting as it shows the Merlin Park Hospital complex still being built, but also some of the surrounding hinterland. There are almost no buildings evident in the top half of the photograph which extends all the way to Lough Athalia, the areas of Renmore and Roscam are shown as green fields.
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