An account is given of a bitter quarrel in 1817 between two of the attending surgeons at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. The protagonists were Granville Sharp Pattison and Hugh Miller, the latter accusing the former of unprofessional conduct in the performance of two amputations. A Committee of Enquiry was set up; Pattison was found to have been at fault in one of the operations, and was censured by the Infirmary's Board of Directors. The fracas has been reconstructed from two original hand-written documents: the Proceedings of the Committee of Enquiry and Pattison's Memorial of Exculpation.
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References
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ArmourJ. Letter to Dr William Mackenzie, January 21, 1817. Arch. R Coll Physicians Surg Glasg1817
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BuchananMS. History of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Glasgow: Lumsden and Son, 1832: 13
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Minutes (February 2, 1818) of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, quoting Miller's letter of resignation, dated October 6, 1817
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PattisonGS. Memorial of Exculpation. (Handwritten rough copy, Archives of the Glasgow Royal Infirmary)1817
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