Frits Mostert on 200 years of healthcare
Sunday 25 October
In 2025, Mostert published the book Opereren in de bestuurskamer. Six hospitals laid the foundations for what is now Frisius MC. He delved into their history, exploring how these institutions were established and eventually came together.
During the lecture, Mostert takes you back to situations that seem astonishing to us today. There was a time when operating theatres still had dusty curtains, or when parents were allowed to visit their child on the children’s ward for just half an hour a day. The earliest references to care for the sick in Leeuwarden date from the early 16th century. Until well into the 19th century, those who could afford it preferred to be cared for at home rather than be admitted to hospital.
Over time, healthcare developed from basic and sometimes harsh conditions into the modern, organised hospital care we know today, with increasing cooperation and professionalisation. Hospitals became places where people with physical health problems could go for examination, treatment and care.
The event is organised by Tresoar and Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden and ties in with the …
During the lecture, Mostert takes you back to situations that seem astonishing to us today. There was a time when operating theatres still had dusty curtains, or when parents were allowed to visit their child on the children’s ward for just half an hour a day. The earliest references to care for the sick in Leeuwarden date from the early 16th century. Until well into the 19th century, those who could afford it preferred to be cared for at home rather than be admitted to hospital.
Over time, healthcare developed from basic and sometimes harsh conditions into the modern, organised hospital care we know today, with increasing cooperation and professionalisation. Hospitals became places where people with physical health problems could go for examination, treatment and care.
The event is organised by Tresoar and Historisch Centrum Leeuwarden and ties in with the Body & Mind theme of the Month of History.