Kinsey Posted 2 February , 2017 Share Posted 2 February , 2017 Hello, First time post to the forum, though I've been lurking for some time. I'm working on a history of Leopardstown Park Hospital, Dublin, which was set up in 1917 as a treatment centre for shell-shocked/neurasthenic soldiers. I have some admission registers, and occasionally see the entry O.D.H. in the diagnosis column. I haven't been able to figure this acronym out, and wonder if somebody might be able to help me. Thanks. Kinsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyH Posted 2 February , 2017 Share Posted 2 February , 2017 May be Oxygen Deficiency Hazard? Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinsey Posted 2 February , 2017 Author Share Posted 2 February , 2017 Thanks for the suggestion Mike. I haven't been able to find any plausible alternatives. Is it a diagnosis that you've seen before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_Underdown Posted 2 February , 2017 Share Posted 2 February , 2017 Are you sure it's an O? VDH for valvular disease of the heart is quite common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 2 February , 2017 Share Posted 2 February , 2017 Oxygen Deficiency Hazard What is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 2 February , 2017 Share Posted 2 February , 2017 Have you found any service/pension records for those admitted with ODH to cross-check what the diagnosis is given as in the records? TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinsey Posted 2 February , 2017 Author Share Posted 2 February , 2017 I'm certain it's ODH, thanks David. I have plenty of admissions with VDH and DAH to compare the hand writing with (though the hand changes of course). Picture attached. Thanks for the suggestion TEW, much appreciated. I'm not used to tracking down individual soldiers, and that route would not have occurred to me. I'll investigate and report back if I find the answer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 2 February , 2017 Share Posted 2 February , 2017 It certainly looks like ODH. I would hazard a guess at it being something to do with the heart. If you have the mans name and number you may find some info. I take it it is an admissions progress sheet you have posted so do you know where he was? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinsey Posted 2 February , 2017 Author Share Posted 2 February , 2017 The image is taken from an admission and discharge book kept for Leopardstown Park Hospital, Dublin. I've found this particular man's discharge documents, but they offer no clue as to this diagnosis unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 2 February , 2017 Share Posted 2 February , 2017 Thanks. Did he survive the war.? If he died of sickness or was discharged because of it there maybe further records. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinsey Posted 2 February , 2017 Author Share Posted 2 February , 2017 He did indeed survive. The admission books I have span from 1930 to 1945; if you look at the right hand margin of the image above, you'll see he was admitted to Leopardstown on 14 June 1938. Discharged on 23 September (101 days in hospital). According to the register he had 70% life disability pension. I am assuming he was assessed in Dublin at some point after discharge and awarded that pension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 2 February , 2017 Admin Share Posted 2 February , 2017 If you have a query about WW2 please post on ww2talk. This forum is for the Great War, and as such WW2 is off topic I'm afraid Regards Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinsey Posted 2 February , 2017 Author Share Posted 2 February , 2017 Thanks Michelle, I thought I had this posted in the right place. The man in question served in the Great War, was a Great War pensioner and was admitted to hospital for war-related injuries prior to the outbreak of WW2. Please let me know if I should post in another forum, and apologies if I have broken any rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin kenf48 Posted 2 February , 2017 Admin Share Posted 2 February , 2017 (edited) Before it gets locked I'd suggest 'Organic Disease (of the) Heart' from my extensive library http://heart-disease.tdrbizl.com/organic-heart-disease.php Ken Edited 2 February , 2017 by kenf48 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinsey Posted 2 February , 2017 Author Share Posted 2 February , 2017 You're spot on, thank you. I had just come back to say that I have come across another patient admitted with O.D.H., with the annotation myocarditis in parentheses. Thanks for all the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 2 February , 2017 Share Posted 2 February , 2017 Yes Ken is right. Organic meaning a real physical cause as compared to imaginary symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 3 February , 2017 Share Posted 3 February , 2017 I read it initially as '38 but thought with the OP and 'Trench Feet' that it was an odd way to write '18. I take it there are no admin & discharge books for WWI period? TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 3 February , 2017 Share Posted 3 February , 2017 Post#12 worked, then?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 3 February , 2017 Share Posted 3 February , 2017 (edited) 22 hours ago, Michelle Young said: If you have a query about WW2 please post on ww2talk. This forum is for the Great War, and as such WW2 is off topic I'm afraid Regards Michelle 2 hours ago, johnboy said: Post#12 worked, then?! Well.... 1938 isn't really WW2 is it? And as the novice poster says in his first post, the hospital was set up in 1917, so let's be generous. And as he also says, he's come across the term more than once, it is possible that one of those occasions might have related to Great War Soldiers, and the diseases, the consequences of the Great War. And we do discuss medal index cards and so on don't we, which for the bulk of soldiers, didn't get created or completed during the Great War? Edited 3 February , 2017 by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Michelle Young Posted 3 February , 2017 Admin Share Posted 3 February , 2017 OK Let's not discusss interwar/ WW2 stuff please. Michelle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinsey Posted 3 February , 2017 Author Share Posted 3 February , 2017 I'm not sure if I'm allowed to continue with this discussion really, but to answer TEW's question, I'm afraid that admission registers for the Great War do not survive. The hospital was opened in March 1918, specifically for treating shell shocked/neurasthenic men who had been invalided out of the British army. Initial capacity was for 32 patients, quickly expanded to 130+. The patient that I asked about was a Great War veteran. An average of 250 patients went through the doors of Leopardstown Park Hospital per annum in the inter-war years and every single one of them had served in the British army (it was a condition of admission). My analysis suggests that 95%+ had served in WWI. I hadn't realised that discussion here was limited only to the years 1914–1918, so apologies for that. Happy for mods to lock if they wish. Also happy to respond to anyone via PM if they'd like to know more about the hospital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Clifton Posted 4 February , 2017 Share Posted 4 February , 2017 11 hours ago, Kinsey said: I'm afraid that admission registers for the Great War do not survive. A small sample selection does survive, in class MH106, files of the former Ministry of Health. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEW Posted 5 February , 2017 Share Posted 5 February , 2017 Kinsey, I think you can continue until a mod locks the thread, it's all about WWI context. Being involved with another shell-shock hospital I wondered what aspects you're researching about Leopardstown Park Hospital. Are you looking for WWI patients, staff, types of treatment? Do you know who the RAMC doctors were esp. the CO? Professor Jones mentions Leopardstown Park Hospital as one of the 10 taken over by the Ministry of Pensions in 1925 to continue treatment for WWI patients. I had a quick hunt and the Hospital Database has nothing for Leopardstown, but TNA have a number of hits that may be of use. British Newspaper Archives return vast numbers of hits due the racecourse but I did find the below regarding the Matron, maybe with photos of staff? Once her name is known you may be able to find her service record which may lead to other trained nurses' names. I only found one VAD card for Leopardstown VAD hospital which may be another hospital? TEW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kinsey Posted 6 February , 2017 Author Share Posted 6 February , 2017 Ron, thank you very much for letting me know about the material in MH106, much appreciated. TEW, I'm writing a history of the hospital to mark its centenary this year. Its origins as a WWI hospital are obviously of great interest, though the fact that I have to cover 100 years of history means that I can't focus in solely on the Great War. I am interested in staff, and thank you for the ref to the Matron whom I had found during my research. The hospital's first management committee, formed in September 1917, was very experienced and included Lt-Col. William R. Dawson (1864–1950) and Major John Lumsden (1869–1944). The British Medical Journal notes that Henry B.F. Dixon (1891–1962) was appointed in January 1918 as the resident medical officer. I have been able to identify quite a few of the doctors that worked there in the next few years. My main focus is on the establishment of the hospital and its subsequent development. The Ministry of Pensions never had to actually take it over; the house and grounds were given to them in 1917. I've been to Kew and viewed all those files; naturally Leopardstown also shows up in many other related series (I can send on details if you'd like - usually it's a brief mention). There are also several files in Dublin relating to Leopardstown's first two decades. There were many VAD hospitals in south-east Dublin, but I've never seen one that was called Leopardstown; nor was Leopardstown Park ever a VAD hospital to the best of my knowledge. I'm curious to know more about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dai Bach y Sowldiwr Posted 6 February , 2017 Share Posted 6 February , 2017 Sounds like a worthy project Kinsey. Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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