How do you light an operating theatre?
A mill on Fisherton Street, Salisbury was converted to a power station by the Salisbury Electric Light and Supply Co in 1899 and the hospital was probably one of the first to benefit from the new power.
The photograph in our collection showing the operating theatre in Salisbury General Infirmary was taken around 1902. You can see newly installed electric light ceiling pendants alongside the old wall mounted gas lamps. Theatres were placed at the top of the building in order to use sky-lights in the ceiling to illuminate the work of the surgeon. Compare this to the keyhole surgery theatres we use today, which are very different and use digital imaging to help guide the surgeon during operations.
