| Description | A set of hard bound manuscript minute books of the Medical Board of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital for the period 1861 to 1971.
The Board consisted of the senior medical and surgical staff in the Mater Hospital, and the Minutes record dates of board meetings, the name of the chair, those members present and any apologies. They cover the day-to-day running and financing of the hospital, and topics include construction work; repairs and improvements to the building; improvements to facilities and services; fund-raising and subscriptions; financial accounts, audits and overdrafts, including the distribution of sweepstakes funds; correspondence between the Medical Board and the Sisters of Mercy, Government Departments (both British and Irish) and other medical and social institutions; staff appointments including the appointment of resident pupils, house surgeons and physicians, visiting surgeons and physicians, assistant surgeons and pathologists amongst others; wages and conditions; clinical education including postgraduate classes; votes of condolence for staff members and their relatives; tenancy and rent of site; annual reports and reports of the various internal and external committees; discussion of national organisations and government legislation that would affect the hospital, such as the Public Hospitals Act 1933, and its subsidiary the Hospitals Commission, which ran from 1933-1976; probationer nurses examination results; sporting associations in the Mater; and Leonard Prize results.
In the later minute books from 1915 onwards, the Boards’ correspondence is recorded at length, with transcripts of letters read to and written by the Board, as well as letters and copies of such pasted into the minute books. The minutes, particularly the early volumes, illustrate the relationship between the Medical Board and the Sisters of Mercy order, represented by the Reverend Mother based in Carysfort Park, Blackrock, Dublin. The Board was in constant contact with the Reverend Mother and Sister Superior of the Hospital via letters, copies of which are attached to the minutes, and decisions taken by the Board are sent to the Reverend Mother for comment. |