Dingleton Hospital Melrose

[Forfarian]

Does anyone know whether there were any other hospitals or nursing homes in the vicinity of Melrose in the late 1930s/early 1940s? I ask because my Dad's grandmother suffered a head injury after being hit by a car in the streets of Edinburgh around this time, and ended up in "a nursing home" (no names were mentioned) at Melrose, as she never fully recovered. She died there in December 1940, and was buried in one of the churchyards nearby, though I don't know which one. Having done a bit of digging, I fully suspect that she was actually at Dingleton, but I thought I'd check for alternatives before I jumped to conclusions.

Have you seen her death certificate? It will tell you exactly where she died. I don't think that 'a nursing home' and the county mental hospital would be the same place.

If you haven't seen it, go to www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk, invest in few credits and use some of them to view and download the death certificate.

[Geordie daughter]

Hi Forfarian
I haven't previously invested in her death certificate, for the simple reason that 99% of the information was provided in a letter written by my great-grandfather to his daughters to inform them of her death. However, he was fairly cagey about mentioning the name of the place she died in, referring to it only in passing as a nursing home or as "the hospital at Melrose," in the course of the letter.

The reason I suspect she was at Dingleton is that my grandfather refers to her "poor distracted mind," and also mentions a doctor telling him "there was no hope of her mental recovery." Sadly, in those days anyone with even a hint of mental problems was referred to places like these, including individuals with post-natal depression, Down's Syndrome and dementia, and she had clearly sustained a fairly serious brain injury. Great-grandpa would have had good reason to be a bit coy about saying his wife was in a mental institution, as I've just discovered that his youngest brother spent most of his adult life in several of them, and eventually died at Bangour Village Hospital.

[Forfarian]

Looks as if it may after all be worth getting the extra 1% of information then 

[Geordie daughter]

I may have to save a few more pennies first - I've just discovered some cousins I never knew I had!

[Geordie daughter]

The death record confirmed my great-gran did die at Roxburgh District Asylum (Dingleton), as I'd suspected, but it's also thrown up another question. Cause of death was given as "Cerebral softening - Probably some years," and there's no mention of it being caused by a head injury, which leads me to wonder if the car accident wasn't a fabrication of my great-grandfather's, and that she might just have been suffering from some form of dementia. I've certainly never been able to trace any newspaper reports of the accident.

[Forfarian]

It could still have been the long-term consequence of an accident.

"Encephalomalacia describes the softening or loss of brain tissue after an injury. Doctors also refer to this condition as cerebral softening. Encephalomalacia is a very serious brain disorder that can cause permanent tissue damage, such as brain scarring or loss of tissues. Encephalomalacia can cause brain damage that impairs functioning and health, as well as lead to certain diseases and disorders. Accident victims with encephalomalacia may never fully recover. Here’s what you need to know about this severe type of injury.
Encephalomalacia can stem from many types of trauma, including traumatic brain injury in an accident, surgery complications, fungal infection, and birth injuries. These traumas can cause liquefactive necrosis, or the transformation of brain tissue into liquid viscous mass."
From https://kitaylaw.com/what-is-encephalomalacia/

[Geordie daughter]

That's really interesting! I just wish I could pin down an accident report because then I'd know how long ago the head injury happened. My great-grandparents had retired and "come back home" to Edinburgh (after years living in what was then Southern Rhodesia) around 1932 or '33, so the accident could have occurred any time between then and late 1939.

[vivdunstan]

That's really interesting! I just wish I could pin down an accident report because then I'd know how long ago the head injury happened. My great-grandparents had retired and "come back home" to Edinburgh (after years living in what was then Southern Rhodesia) around 1932 or '33, so the accident could have occurred any time between then and late 1939.

You could try accessing her detailed patient records at Dingleton. The hospital’s records survive, in Edinburgh. I describe them in GENUKI at

https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/sct/ROX/Melrose#MedicalRecords

And if you follow the link though from there you should be able to find the full archive details. There are confidentiality closures, but as a great grandchild you may be able to access them.

[Geordie daughter]

Thank you Viv, that may be worth a try. It's not really a huge deal, but it would be nice to find out once and for all what really happened.