ROYAL ALEXANDRA INFIRMARY AND HAWKHEAD HOSPITAL, PAISLEY
When Arthur W Mollison was appointed as the first Consultant Biochemist to the Renfrewshire Hospitals in 1963, he divided his week between the Royal Alexandra Infirmary in Paisley and the Gateside Hospital in Greenock and a hospital in Port Glasgow.
In 1970, Robert (Bob) Wilson was appointed as Consultant Biochemist to the Renfrew District working in the Central Laboratory at Gateside Hospital. This laboratory served the hospitals in Greenock and the surrounding area from Bridge of Weir to Dunoon and Rothesay. The laboratory was housed in a building which had been the isolation section when Gateside had been an Infectious Diseases Hospital. The Biochemistry Department was in a room which had been a ward. Later an office was built for Wilson and this suffered from condensation and had mildew and fungus growing on the walls.
The main equipment was two Technicon AAI AutoAnalyzers. Manifolds were put on and taken off to deal with batches of differing analyses. Over the years, the range of equipment was expanded and first one, and then two, portacabins were added to the accommodation.
In April 1979 the laboratories moved to Inverclyde Royal Hospital. New equipment was provided including a CTL computer system supported by N Wynne Carter and the staff at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. (ref: 102)
In 1979, Robert (Bob) R Burns was appointed as Senior Biochemist. He was subsequently appointed as Principal and Top Grade Biochemist in 1984 and 1990 respectively.
In 1979, Robert (Bob) R Burns was appointed as Senior Biochemist. He was subsequently appointed as Principal and Top Grade Biochemist in 1984 and 1990 respectively. He retired in 2010.
In 1990, Bob Wilson retired and Dr Archie A McConnell was appointed as Consultant.
McConnell had been a Registrar at Glasgow Royal Infirmary in the early 1980s and a Senior Registrar in Southmead Hospital, Bristol, prior to his appointment. He retired in 2014.
The Laboratory amalgamated with the Royal Alexandra Infirmary in Paisley in the 2000s
Return to Introduction / Index