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This month's Guest Treasure was kindly selected by NHS Grampian Archives who hold fascinating and varied collections of historical health records from across the North East of Scotland. Aberdeen Royal Lunatic Asylum has changed a lot since it opened in 1800, as has the way in which patients were admitted. Following the passing of the Lunacy (Scotland) Act in 1857, people who were being admitted had to have been assessed by two different doctors who would set out why that person's symptoms merited admission to the Asylum. These were recorded on Medical Certificates - or 'Lunacy Forms' as they are called in these volumes. The forms give background information on the patient - their name, age, address, next of kin and so on, before recording the two doctor's statements. Supporting case notes also survive, which give further information on the individual patients, but there are also surviving annual reports which can be found in Aberdeen Central Library. These detail the changes which happened in the hospital each year, give statistics on the number of patients admitted, and provide information on how well the hospital was being run. View the Lunacy forms in greater detail on our touchscreens.

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This broadside purports to comes from a newspaper called Northern Ensign. It provides detail of an accident on water in 1856. It appears to be an elaboration satirical allegory comparing the Great North of Scotland Railway Company's attempts to pass a bill in parliament to a disaster at sea. The "Great North", a large, three-decker steamer is commanded by Captain John Duncan. This is presumably John Duncan, an Aberdeen Advocate, who served as chairman of the Great North of Scotland Railway Co. between 1867 and 1871. Of one incident, the broadside reports "The Great North" capsized when a storm broke out. The vessel had been preparing to take off, with all sails open. Captain Elphinstone's crew all attempted to scramble to safety. Many of the crew were seriously injured. Though the storm only lasted a few minutes, some £15,000 in damage was done. The broadside reports that their correspondent tried to investigate the issue, but the crew refused to give much information. The broadside does list some injuries, such as: "Andrew Boyd, lost his snuff-box and his memory". John Webster was thrown overboard and was rescued by another vessel, whom The Great North crew had been ridiculing before the storm. A further amazing description follows: "Ferguson (not the poet or the astronomer, but a bigger man than before) got severely crushed between a floating spar and the funnel." "John Anderson (not 'my Joe,') preserved his equanimity during the whole trying scene, and coolly went down below for his portmanteau." A report into the accident found that the crew were incompetent, "not one could box the compass." The lackadaisical attitude of the crew towards safety, they found, contributed to the scale of the accident.

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