POWERHOUSE COLLECTION

Doctor's home visit case with pharmaceuticals and prescription books

Object No. 2018/17/1

This doctor's home visit case with medicines and prescription books represents the practice of general practitioners visiting the family home when a patient is ill. The case dates from the late 1960s, and includes the medicines Largactil - and anti-psychotic, Coramine - a countermeasure against tranquilizer overdoses, Lasix - a medication used to treat fluid build-up due to heart failure, liver scarring, or kidney disease, Gynergen - a medication used to cause contractions of the uterus to treat heavy vaginal bleeding after childbirth, Doriden - a hypnotic sedative; as well as asthma medication, pethadine, morphine, anti-nausea medication, and three glass syringes and hypodermic needles. There are also three prescription books, medical service vouchers, and a domicilary claim voucher book. All these objects give us an insight into the practice of medicine in the late 1960s; moreover, many of these medicines would not be carried by a doctor performing home visits today as they are commonly abused pharmaceuticals In the 1960s the majority of Australia GPs would have done their training at the Sydney University in New South Wales or Monash in Victoria. The undergraduate course would have been six years. The lodge system - whereby a particular society or lodge would contract with a doctor to provide medical care to its members - had essentially ceased in the 1950s, so billing was direct to the patient in 1967. It was accepted that some patients could not pay and they were treated for free. Most obstetrics was done by the family GP. They would deliver babies, do forceps deliveries, manual removals and Caesarian sections. A fellow GP would deliver the anaesthetic for any major surgery. In the late 1960s most patients did not have a car or a telephone, and a GP might do up to twenty-five house calls through a day. Damian McDonald Curator November 2017

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Summary

Object Statement

Doctor's home visit case with pharmaceuticals and prescription books, plastic / glass / paper / metal, multiple makers, used by Dr Bruce C Terrey of Beecroft, New South Wales, Australia, 1967

Physical Description

The case is a black leatherette covered case with a single handle and two latches. Open, the case features four drawers - two large and two smaller. These pull out to reveal the medicines, documents and medical equipment. The medicines are: Largactil Coramine Lasix Gynergen Doriden Pethadine Morphine Stematil Sparine Heparin Phenobarbitone Mersalyl Torecan Alupent Adrenalin Bronkephrine Cilicaine Butesol Banistyl Solu-Cortef Cicatrin There are three glass syringes and hypodermic needles. The documents included are: Two prescription books, two books of medical service vouchers, and two books of domicilary claim vouchers. There is a bandage and bandage tape, a urine test kit, disposable syringe and a reflex hammer.

PRODUCTION

Notes

The case does not feature any makers' marks. The pharmaceuticals and medical material were made by: Johnson and Johnson Ames Grahams May and Baker Baxter Laboratories Society of Chemical Industry Sandoz Hoecshst Commonwealth Serum Laboratories Park Davis Burroughs Wellcome Ciba Upjohn The documents were produced by the Australian Commonwealth and State governments.

SOURCE

Credit Line

Gift of A N Davies, 2018

Acquisition Date

9 March 2018

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