DRAWING ON A HISTORIC PATIENT
THEY were treasured hospital documents purposefully kept by one the most influential figures in the history of Edinburgh psychiatric health.
But the 34 pieces of paper carefully put aside by Sir Thomas Clouston in the late 1800s were not medical records or lecture notes. They were a series of drawings on scrap paper by a patient reflecting life at the city’s Royal Edinburgh Hospital in the late 19th century.
Now drawings, some with notes, by patient Andrew Kennedy, who was born in 1825, could go on show.
The drawings were found in a file set aside by Sir Thomas.
NHS Lothian assistant archivist Laura Gould said: “It’s fascinating to see the work of patients from that time, because they often don’t have a voice.”