'Computers were introduced to the department in 1981'

'Computers were introduced to the department in 1981'

Avril Patterson remembers working in the Royal Victoria Hospital after the death of her husband.

Avril Patterson

Trinity College Dublin

1971

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Avril Patterson

Work and Employment

Life Story

Belfast,Northern Ireland

1970's

I got married in 1959. My late husband owned a grocers shop,off the Crumlin Road. I helped in the shop,keeping books and running a very busy grocery shop until his death in 1971. I then started working in the Royal Victoria Hospital,Bacteriology Department,again as a clerical officer,keeping records for the Control of Infection Sister. Computers were introduced to the department in 1981. The staff all had to learn how to use a computer. The clerical staff had to record patients' history. The doctors and nurses were continually telephoning for results from the laboratory staff. It was a very busy department,but I loved the Royal.I worked in the Royal Victoria for 25 years until my retirement in 1994.

Irish Research Council for Arts,Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)