As a student at St Thomas's Hospital, I used to walk the long 'Nightingale' wards - Florence Nightingale had not only founded its school of nursing but was influential in the design of the building - and learned to avoid prayer-time because the way out was obstructed by the line of 'Nightingales' kneeling at the door in order of seniority. And sometimes I watched patients having ECT in Scutari - the psychiatric clinic too was named in her honour.

LRB 4 December 2008 | PDF Download