Mary Stewart (social worker)
Encyclopedia
Mary Stewart was the first hospital
almoner
(medical social work
er) appointed in the United Kingdom
.
Little is known of Stewart's family or early life. She was educated at the North London Collegiate School for Girls and trained as a social worker with the Charity Organisation Society (later the Family Welfare Association).
On 21 January 1895, Stewart was working as secretary of the St Pancras
office of the COS when she was appointed almoner to the Royal Free Hospital
by Sir Charles Loch, the COS's secretary, an enthusiastic advocate of medical social work. She remained employed by the COS on a salary of £100 per annum, later increased to £125 (the additional £25 paid by the hospital), which was a reasonably good salary for a woman at that time. In 1897, two assistants were appointed to aid her.
In 1899, she resigned from the Royal Free Hospital due to ill-health, but continued to work for the COS. She was knocked down by a car and later died in the Royal Northern Hospital
on 4 January 1925.
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
almoner
Almoner
An almoner is a chaplain or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing cash to the deserving poor.Historically, almoners were Christian religious functionaries whose duty was to distribute alms to the poor. Monasteries were required to spend one tenth of their income in charity to...
(medical social work
Medical social work
Medical social work is a sub-discipline of social work, also known as hospital social work. Medical social workers typically work in a hospital, skilled nursing facility or hospice, have a graduate degree in the field, and work with patients and their families in need of psychosocial help...
er) appointed in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Little is known of Stewart's family or early life. She was educated at the North London Collegiate School for Girls and trained as a social worker with the Charity Organisation Society (later the Family Welfare Association).
On 21 January 1895, Stewart was working as secretary of the St Pancras
St Pancras
-Saints:* Pancras of Taormina, martyred in 40 AD in Sicily* Pancras of Rome, the saint martyred c.304 AD after whom the following are directly or indirectly named-United Kingdom:* St Pancras, London, a district of London...
office of the COS when she was appointed almoner to the Royal Free Hospital
Royal Free Hospital
The Royal Free Hospital is a major teaching hospital in Hampstead, London, England and part of the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust....
by Sir Charles Loch, the COS's secretary, an enthusiastic advocate of medical social work. She remained employed by the COS on a salary of £100 per annum, later increased to £125 (the additional £25 paid by the hospital), which was a reasonably good salary for a woman at that time. In 1897, two assistants were appointed to aid her.
In 1899, she resigned from the Royal Free Hospital due to ill-health, but continued to work for the COS. She was knocked down by a car and later died in the Royal Northern Hospital
Royal Northern Hospital
The Royal Northern Hospital was a general hospital on Holloway Road, London N7, near Tollington Way. It had inpatient, outpatient, accident and emergency facilities and was also a centre for postgraduate education. Originally located at King's Cross, it began as an independent and voluntary...
on 4 January 1925.