Liverpool Medical School
and Beyond
(continued)
I
t was traditional that the benches
below the walkway were for
final year students and honorary
life members. Private business
was followed by a variety of guest
s p e a k e r s . A f t e r w a r d s , w e ’d g o t o
the medics’ pub, which apart from
a brief dalliance with the Prince of
Wa l e s , wa s t h e M o u nt Ve r n o n .
S a d l y, i t h a s n o w b e e n d e m o l i s h e d
to make way for redevelopment, but
due to its shape and position, it
looked like a tram descending into
town. Know to everyone as Aggies,
a f t e r A g n e s t h e l a n d l a d y, i t w a s a l s o
used by the Medics football and
r u g b y c l u b s , i f t h e y ’d b e e n p l a y i n g a t
home on a Wednesday afternoon, and
again after the match on Saturdays.
On Thursdays, the pub was followed
by the Cabin Club, and finally across
t h e r o a d t o Z o r b a ’s fo r a G r e e k a n d
s e v e r a l b o w l s o f Ta h i n i .
There were other highlights: the
Blackpool trip, the trip to the
G u i n n e s s f a c t o r y, M e d i c a l D i n n e r,
Medical Ball, the annual Forensics
l e c t u r e , T i m P r e s t o n ’s F i n a l Ye a r
surgery revision lecture - “and
if things are not going well, the
e x a m i n e r w i l l t a ke y o u i n P r e s t o n ’s
supracondylar grip and guide you
t o w a r d s . . . . .”
T
he Medics Football Club was
another important element
of my time as a student.
N e v e r g o o d e n o u g h t o p l a y, I t o o k
up refereeing, and would ref the
matches against other medical
schools on a Wednesday afternoon.
A s w e ’d i n v a r i a b l y g o t o t h e C a b i n ,
22
By Dr John O'Donnell
MB. ChB 1981
I ’d w a l k h o m e t o S m i t h d o w n R o a d
still carrying my kit, only to be
stopped by the police every time at
the top of Upper Parliament Street,
wanting to know what I had in the
bag.
T
ours became an established
feature of our season, although
I almost missed the first one.
I ’d b e e n t o a m a t e ’s b i r t h d a y p a r t y
the night before, overslept and
missed the minibus from the Medical
School down to London. Undeterred,
I hitchhiked down to Charing Cross
Medical School and caught up with
t h e m 1 0 h o u r s l a t e r, j u s t i n t i m e
to join the naked conga through
a p a c k e d c o n c e r t r o o m . We ’d g o
to London every autumn, playing
Charing Cross on the Friday and St.
M a r y ’s o n t h e S u n d a y, p l u s v a r i o u s
o t h e r s o n t h e S a t u r d a y. We a l s o w e n t
to Paris, Dublin and twice to the Isle
of Man over the Easter weekend.
W
e were fortunate to have a
crop of very good players
and, in search of a better
standard of football, the club joined
the Shipping League. As the name
suggests, it was originally founded
to provide competition for the
numerous shipping lines that once
operated out of Liverpool. Even in
our time, it was still a requirement
that teams were based in workplaces
- h e n c e w e ’d p l a y t h e l i k e s o f O t i s ,
Kodak, Jacobs, Plesseys. One Friday
n i g h t w e ’d g o n e t o a f a n c y d r e s s
p a r t y, w i t h t h e t h e m e o f h e r o e s .
Pete Mac had gone as the Incredible
Hulk and Damo had gone as Wonder
Woman, and in order to enhance
their costumes had applied body
paint, which unfortunately didn’t
c o m e o ff e a s i l y. S o t h e n e x t d a y o n
Sefton Park, an opposition voice was
h e a r d t o s h o u t “ G a r y, y o u m a r k t h e
g r e e n f e l l a , I ’ l l t a k e t h e b l u e .”
I
qualified in the summer of 1981
and did my pre-registration house
officer jobs at Whiston Hospital.
We worked a basic 40 hour week,
plus on call. Medicine was a 1 in 4
on call rota, Surgery was a 1 in 3, so
that was either 72 or 83 hours per
w e e k i n t o t a l . H o w e v e r, t h e o n c a l l
was only paid at one third of the
standard rate. I still remember that
my first take home pay was £440 per
month.
and the “naughty boys” table. As
well allowing you a quick meal, it
provided a forum for discussion and
advice, and facilitated referrals from
o n e fi r m t o a n o t h e r.
W
e house officers were
supposedly resident, which
meant the hospital had to
provide us with accommodation. We
all lived in, as did some of the SHOs
and Registrars. Upstairs in the Res
w a s a l o u n g e w i t h a T V a n d a b a r.
This provided somewhere to meet
up if you weren’t on call, or just
wind down. From there, the medical
students would make the midnight
run to the hospital kitchen, to
collect bacon or sausage butties for
the on call team.
A
well loved aspect of life at
Whiston was the Green Dragon
Thursday Club, founded by the
late, great, Dr Eric Sherwood-Jones,
m o t t o “ F r i e n d s h i p t h r o u g h A l e .” A s
t h e n a m e s u g g e s t s , w e ’d m e e t i n
the Green Dragon pub, which used
to stand next to the hospital, every
Thursday evening after work, unless
y o u w e r e o n c a l l . S a d l y, i t h a s b e e n
closed for many years and in the last
3 months has been demolished.
T
he Doctors Res was situated
across the car park from
the old A&E department.
Downstairs was a small kitchen and
we were looked after by Gladys,
Hettie and their colleague, whose
name I’ve forgotten. Meals came
over in one of those large trolleys
that served the wards, but the ladies
were able to rustle up omelettes
or cheese on toast on request. In
the dining room were 3 tables,
including the consultants table
A
gain, it gave us somewhere to
socialise outside work and to
swap anecdotes about hospital
life over the preceding week.
23