UK premature baby care 1947-1965: the Dr Isaac 'Harry' Gosset Collection at Northampton General Hospital - a case study
Dr Andrew Williams and Fred O'Dell, Northampton General Hospital
Monday, 05 March 2018, 4pm to 5.30pm
History Faculty Lecture Theatre, University of Oxford, 41-47 George Street, OX1 2BE
Dr Isaac Henry Gosset (1907-1965) was appointed the first consultant paediatrician for Northampton General Hospital in 1947.
In neonatal practice he designed the perspex 'Gosset’ icterometer, which allowed accurate estimation of serum bilirubin without blood testing. Two trials at Northampton and Birmingham were simultaneously published in the Lancet in 1960. He designed the neonatal unit at Northampton, a generation ahead of his time, The present day ‘Gosset Neonatal Unit’ is named in his memory.
Using an online archive 'The Gosset Collection' the history of the development of the icterometer and the perinatal care pathway of the 1950s and early 1960s will be reconstructed. Both will be placed in the context of a rapidly evolving area of premature baby care.