The archive also holds the prime records of the defunct Western Regional Health Board and of the Greater Glasgow Health Board. The archives include the minutes of governing bodies, architects’ drawings of hospital buildings, photographs, accounts, correspondence, reports and records of patient care. Medical advances documented include antiseptic surgery (Lister), aseptic surgery (Macewen), caesarean delivery (Cameron) and the use of X-rays (MacIntyre). Developments in psychiatric care and nursing are also extensively covered.
The records are subject to the legal restrictions on access which apply to all public records, namely a 30 year closure period for administrative records and a 75 year closure in respect of patient's clinical records. There is an established procedure by means of which access may be granted to records which are currently closed, usually subject to satisfactory assurances being given as to protecting the identity of individual patients.
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