Infirmary’s role as leper hospital detailed in new book

THE history of a landmark Waterford hospital that closed amid public protests during a previous round of health cutbacks is told in a book being launched today.

Written by Dr Niall Byrne, A History of Institutional Medicine in Waterford recalls the experiences of patients and medical staff at the Waterford County & City Infirmary and its predecessor, the Waterford Leper Hospital of St Stephen.

Established as an infirmary by an Act of Parliament in 1896, the former hospital on John’s Hill in the city is now an apartment complex following its closure in 1987. The leper hospital previously occupied the site, having moved there in 1785 from its original location at Stephen Street in the city centre.

As well as charting the progress made in medicine, particularly during the 20th century, the book showcases some of the personalities who delivered healthcare at the infirmary and the leper hospital.

These included four generations of the Mackesy family who provided several medics and public representatives to Waterford over a 139-year period. Among the Mackesy family members to serve at the leper hospital was an apothecary known as “Billy the Bleeder” for his regular use of the lance.

Other topics examined in the publication include the challenges faced by medics at the infirmary when grappling with medical bureaucracy.

Areas highlighted include the 12 months-plus discussions before electrical lights could be installed and the uphill battle faced by Dr Abundus d’Abreu in the 1930s to have three beds in the infirmary dedicated to cancer patients. Dr d’Abreu felt poorer cancer patients in particular were being denied the then new treatment of radium therapy. He initially provided the treatment at his home and was the first medic outside of Dublin and Cork to use the treatment.

Dr Byrne said that generations knew it as “The Infirmary”, and that “In one form or another, this institution and its predecessor served the people of Ireland’s oldest city for more than 800 years.”