DETAILS of a Bahraini ‘floating hospital’ in 1924 to tend to the medical needs of pearling fleets and overseen by the British assistant surgeon of the Victoria Memorial Hospital (VMH) are amongst the key historical details unveiled in the first-ever historical study about VMH.
The ‘Bahrain’s Victoria Memorial Hospital in Bahrain (1905-1948)’ study, conducted by Derasat executive director Dr Hamad Ebrahim Al Abdulla, devotes a section of the report to Dr Ralph Holmes, who served at the VMH from September 24, 1923 to June 1, 1941.
Dr Holmes was one of the most popular doctors to work at VMH, which opened in 1905 and ceased operations 43 years later, due to lack of funding, as well as increasing competition from local and foreign medical facilities like the Mason Memorial Hospital, which later was renamed the American Mission Hospital.
“In 1924, the Government of Bahrain purchased a large dhow (boom) from Kuwait, which was turned into a floating hospital to attend to the pearling fleets when they were at sea,” Dr Al Abdulla notes, in the study.
“Unfortunately, there was no medical doctor available to oversee its work and so Dr Holmes of the VMH volunteered to take part in running the services being provided by the innovative floating hospital.
“The assistant surgeon even worked on-board the dhow for 10 days in the final stages of the pearling season.
“The (British Political) Agency reported cases in which divers swam for long distances from their ships seeking treatment from the floating hospital.”
The historical study focuses on VMH and examines four different aspects of the hospital’s history.
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The first covers the background that led to its foundation and flourishing, partly because the only other medical establishment at the time was sometimes shut due to its senior doctor’s constant medical tours throughout the region.
The second encompasses challenges faced during and after the First World War. The third is the hospital’s resurgence, mainly due to its supervision by Dr Holmes in the 1920s. And finally, it discusses the circumstances that led to the hospital’s closure in 1948.
“During its existence, the hospital stood as a successful example of Bahraini-British collaboration in the first half of the 20th century,” the researcher adds, in the abstract of the study.
The paper presents an important chapter of Bahrain’s social and political history, and offers researchers a view of its social movement.
VMH, through its various locally-funded health services, played a role in developing modern medical services in Bahrain.
Researching its history included examining a wide array of primary sources, including reports, telegrams, and letters exchanged between the Government of Bahrain, the British Residency and Agency, and the hospital.
These documents gave an idea on how the hospital operated, its key personnel, and major health challenges that Bahrain faced in the early 20th century.
These documents were collected through the archives of the India Office Records kept in the British Library and the British National Archives, in addition to viewing the memoirs and diaries of several Bahraini and British public figures and diplomats.
The process also used quarterly reports issued by the American Mission in Bahrain.
The report is available for free by visiting linktr.ee/derasat or scanning the QR code.
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