Seahouses, Probus

He announced that Bill Godfrey, twice ex-chairman and for some years our social secretary, had resigned as he has moved away. It was proposed that he should be appointed an honorary member and this was passed by all present. Bill is unwell and our secretary Fraser Suffield will send him a get well card on our behalf.

Birthday greetings were followed by satisfactory reports from our secretary and treasurer Forbes Grant.

Our speaker was then introduced, our chairman, to give a talk entitled Anaesthesia.

This was a ‘tour de force’ history of anaesthetics, from the days when surgeons were using rum and holding the patient down to remove an arm or leg within two minutes to avoid the onset of gangrene, up to the sophistication of the present day.

We were told how anaesthesia improved with the introduction of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) in the 1840s and how it was replaced by ether, and then chloroform. We were also told of the problems of applying these anaesthetics.

The whole fascinating history of how muscle-relaxing and other problems were identified and overcome was covered, and methods of applying modern anaesthetics explained.

After a question and answer session Ian Hulme gave the vote of thanks on behalf of an enthusiastic audience.