Anne Campbell Gibson

Anne Campbell Gibson (19 November 1849 – 21 April 1926) was matron of the Birmingham Union Infirmary (1888–1912) and notable for her contributions to workhouse nursing and pioneering the establishment of infirmaries separate from workhouses and staffed with trained nurses.

Early life Gibson was born in Edinburgh to Anne McDougall and John Gibson (1813–1856), Gibson was one of six children.

Early nursing career Gibson attended the nurse training school at St.Thomas Hospital in 1881, recruited by Mrs Wardroper and vetted by Florence Nightingale. On completion she was guided by Florence Nightingale to make her nursing career in improving care for the sick in workhouses. In 1882 she was appointed assistant matron at BrownLow Hill Poor Law Infirmary in Liverpool, and subsequently matron in 1887.

Later nursing career In 1888 Gibson was appointed matron of Birmingham Union Poor Law Infirmary, which housed over 1000 sick, infirm and mentally ill paupers.

Gibson's achievements in improving workhouse nurse training and infirmary care led to her gain a national reputation and delivering lectures at Poor Law and Public Health conferences.

On retirement, she moved to London and continued her involvement at a national level of the development of the nursing and midwifery profession. Gibson was also an active member of the Voluntary Advisory Nursing Board for the Prison Service. In 1915 she was appointed matron of Beaufort War Hospital in Bristol, retiring within a year because of ill health.

Death and memorial service Gibson died on 21 April 1926 in Finchley, London and was buried in Edinburgh. A memorial service, held in the chapel at St Thomas’s Hospital, was attended by politicians and national figures in the professions of nursing and midwifery including: Sir Arthur Stanley, Dame Sarah Swift, Dame Alicia Lloyd Still, Miss Rachael Cox-Davies and Dame Rosalind Paget.

The Anne Gibson Meeting Rooms continue to exist in the City Hospital, Birmingham, part of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS trust.