Sir – In 1931 Elizabeth Duchess of York (later, the Queen Mother) opened the stylish Maternity Home at the Radcliffe Infirmary where generations of Oxford and Oxfordshire citizens were born.
In 1956, a plaque was unveiled that 18,500 babies were delivered, and that over a thousand nurses trained as midwives.
There were many historic breakthroughs in the Infirmary buildings – as on January 27, 1941, when the first dose of penicillin was given intravenously to a patient.
The buildings and wards bore the names of many medical pioneers, donors, and loved ones, some killed in action, and beloved children.
Yet — although one is reassured that memorials and plaques have been preserved — the geometry of the plans for the new Radcliffe Infirmary site in no way reflects this vital aspect of our community’s heritage.
Paul Weindling, Oxford
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