Memorial to Lord
Austin
Medical
Department
The First Medical Block
Entrance
In view of the importance of keeping men
and women fit for work, vital in war time, the Directors decided to
set up the new magnificently equipped Medical Department dedicated
to the memory of Lord Austin. This was officially opened at
the Austin
Works Longbridge on the 3rd December 1941 by the Air vice-Marshal
Sir David Munro, KCM, CIE, LLD, FRCS, Secretary to the Industrial
Health Research Board and Chief Medical Officer at the Ministry of
Supply. The department was a two-storey building situated near the
main entrance, ‘K’ gate. The ground floor had a treatment room for
men and another for women, a resuscitation room, and a room for
X-ray work and physiotherapy; there was also a bathroom, primarily
for the treatment of serious burns. The upper floor comprised a
large examination room with cubicles, a smaller consulting room, a
laboratory for chemical and bacteriological examinations, and
offices for the medical staff.
Room inside the Medical
Block
The department had modern
style, furnishing and lighting, central heating, and plentiful hot
water. thus providing first-class accommodation for the needs of
the three medical officers, and continuing the ongoing welfare
services that Herbert Austin had pursued. He had always been
concerned for the health and welfare of his employees.
In the entrance hall of the
new Medical Block,
was this plaque beneath a portrait of Lord Austin.
This shows the
layout of the Block and various rooms,
although small changes were made over the years.
Early Ambulance Station
This new block along with
ten Ambulances Stations around the factory, now provided first
class medical care at all times. An indication of the immense
contribution the Ambulance Stations supplied to the employees’
health, is given by the following figures. In 1940 with a work
force of around 30,000 working 24-7, on average they dealt with 460
cases, of varying severity every day.
At the opening ceremony Mr. Murphy, chairman of the Works Hospital
and Benevolent Fund, that during the years 1933-40 the workpeople
had contributed to the Birmingham Hospital Saturday Fund
(BHSF).
(A fund was set up on
15 March 1873 and this was the first British scheme for raising
money for all voluntary hospitals in an area. By 1879 the
collections had dwindled, and it was decided to replace the scheme
with a fixed weekly contribution of 1d. On 29 December 1891 the
BHSF fund was incorporated as a limited non-profit company. Over
the years it acquired large houses for conversion or constructed
new convalescent homes around the country.)
Workers at
Longbridge had contributed nearly £69,000 to the BHSF; the company
added a further £13,000, making £82,000 in all. If workers needed
medical treatment away from work, either at a doctors or hospital,
they obtained vouchers for payment. Between 1933-40 the scheme had
issued vouchers to the Austin workforce to the value of £66,000,
and this allowed thousands of workers to go to convalescent
homes.
When The National Health Service Act 1946 came into effect on 5
July 1948, giving free medical treatment to all, the BHSF changed
direction. It now subsided dental and optical etc. Employees could
also convalesce after major surgery, usually at Kewstoke in
Weston-super-Mare.
Kewstoke Convalescent Home
The following is an extract from a handbook issued to all employees
starting work at “The Austin” in the 1950s.
There was a “Lord Austin Longbridge Works
Memorial Fund” The Fund was formed in 1942 to perpetuate the memory
of the late Lord Austin, KBE, LLD, JP, who founded the Austin Motor
Company in 1905. The object of the Fund is to assist cases of
hardship amongst employees.
The company donated £1,000 to start the Fund and gives an annual
donation to assist in its work. The employee’s contributions is 1d
per week.
The Austin Workpeople’s Benevolent Fund, is for all employees on
check (that is, people who worked on the shop floor), irrespective
of age, the contribution to the fund is 4d per week, deducted from
wages, from which sum, 1d helps to provide convalescent treatment
through the medium of the Birmingham Hospital Saturday Fund. The
remaining 3d goes to the Benevolent Fund, the main purpose of which
is to assist contributors who have been absent from work for six
continuous weeks or more through illness.
The Health Department is responsible for
advising Management on matters which concern the health and
well-being of employees within the factory and for the emergency
treatment of injuries or illness occurring at work.
Injuries or sudden illness at work are treated in the first place
in Ambulance Stations which are located at convenient points around
the factory. In all there are nine of these in addition to the main
central Health Department. All Ambulance Stations are open during
normal factory hours. At night and at week-ends they are open
according to the number and location of employees at work.
All Ambulance Stations are staffed by fully trained nurses who use
the most up-to-date methods of treatment. It is important that each
employee should know the location of his Ambulance Station and
should use it. Prompt attendance at these Stations is important,
even for small injuries, for two good reasons. Firstly, early
treatment will usually prevent a small wounds becoming septic and
causing dangerous complication and loss of time from work, and
secondly, the record of the injury at the Ambulance Station is
important and necessary evidence, should an employee later have to
make a claim under the Industrial Injuries Act. Failure to report
any injury may thus greatly inconvenience the employee.
X Ray Machine
The Company’s doctors are located in the
Central Health Department. Here all the more serious injuries are
treated and all employees requiring medical advice, in relation to
their employment, are examined. The department is fully equipped
with X-ray and other modern apparatus for investigating illness and
has facilities for such special treatments as physiotherapy and
chiropody
The Health Department is open during normal factory hours and in
addition on Wednesday evening, when any employees with problems may
be seen by appointment. At other times a doctor is always on call
and will attend at the factory for any emergency.
Employees may be referred to the Health Department by the nursing
sister in charge of an Ambulance Station or may be seen at their
own request if they are worried about some aspect of their health.
All interviews and the findings of all medical investigations
carried out in the Health Department are strictly confidential
between the doctor and the employee and will not be disclosed
without permission. This applies also to medical particulars
received from doctors or specialists in letters addressed to any of
the doctors in the Health Department.
Close co-operation between the Health Department and employees’ own
doctors is maintained, the latter being informed of all matters of
importance affecting the health and well-being of the patient.
Treatments started by employees’ own doctors or at hospital can
often be continued at the Health Centre, thus saving employees loss
of time.
Certain categories of employees are medically examined as a
routine. They are mainly employees whose work requires a special
degree of fitness or whose work involves the safety of others, eg.,
crane, transport and locomotive drivers, foundry workers, sheet
metal workers, etc.
Juveniles, ie. young people under eighteen years of age, who are
employed in the workshops are required by law to undergo a medical
examination within the first two weeks of their employment, and
thereafter annually up to the age of eighteen. It is important
therefore that juveniles should these appointments as required
under the Factories Acts.
A close link between the Health Department and the Welfare
Department. Employees attending the Welfare Department after an
absence of more than six weeks due to injury or illness are always
referred to the Health Department for medical advice or if in doubt
about their fitness for a particular employment.
Disabled employees seeking the privilege of a disability pass to
enable them to leave the factory early (five minutes) to catch
their transport, are similarly referred at yearly intervals for
assessment of their disability.
In addition to the foregoing medical facilities the Company
provides a Rehabilitation Unit in which there are special
employment facilities under medical supervision for unfit or
injured employees who, having completed their medical or surgical
treatment at home or in hospital, but still have to recover to full
working fitness or full function of a hand or limb. Special
apparatus for remedial exercises after injury and for graduated
work after illness is available. Resettlement in the most suitable
employment is arranged after rehabilitation.
Care of the Eyes
Vision testing and ophthalmic attention under the National Health
Service are given by a fully qualified optician who is in
attendance at the factory on three mornings a week. Monday,
Wednesday and Friday.
The Consulting Room adjoins North Ambulance Station and
appointments can be made by telephone. Phone No 853.
Chiropodist
A Chiropodist is in attendance in various parts of the Works.
Appointments and further details may be obtained by contacting the
Ambulance Station in your section of the Works. A small charge is
made for the service.
Dental Department
A well equipped Dental Surgery is situated adjacent to the Central
Health Department, South Works.
It is under the care of a fully qualified dental surgeon and
treatment including the services of a dental technician is given
under the National Health Service. Appointments can be made for
attention during working hours, by telephoning 594.
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