Orkney Women Doctors Project (1894 to 1948)

Injured Woman’s Terrible Flight. Marooned and helpless on Papa Westray. Rowing Boat’s Hazardous Voyage. On 25 November 1931, Dr Jean Cursiter left Papa Westray to accompany a seriously injured patient on a hazardous and extraordinary journey to hospital in Kirkwall.[1] She left behind her husband Ian and 8 month old son, Jack. It's unlikely she would return for some days given the stormy weather. Jessie Groat's hand had been caught in a threshing machine, and although the machine was stopped immediately, the limb was crushed and lacerated to the elbow. Her husband, farmer Thomas Groat, of Howe summoned Dr Cursiter who attended to the injury but realised the case was so serious it needed an immediate operation if Mrs Groat was to survive. Papa Westray was completely cut off from any help or rescue. The island had no telegraph or telephone communication to summon help from Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland.   The sea was rough and dangerous for a small boat to cross. The Orkney...

This was a request made by Dr Jeannie Newton to the Medical Committee and Parish Council on the Orkney island of Papa Westray in October 1902, as a condition for staying longer in her post as Resident Medical Officer and Public Vaccinator. It indicates one of the challenges facing the doctors working on the island at the time and the problems which faced the island committees in appointing and retaining a resident doctor on the island. CO6/11/1: Public Assistance Papa Westray Parochial Board/Parish Council Minute Book, 1895-1903, Orkney Library and Archive In December 1896, it was recorded that the Parish Council had received a “numerously signed petition” from rate payers and others asking for a Resident Medical Officer to be appointed for the island (population at the time 337). Until this time, Papa Westray   (or Papay as it is known locally) was served by the Resident Medical Officer from the nearest island of Westray. However, the distance between the two islands is 4 miles an...