Includes Sir Liam's Special Reports Report of a Census of Organs and Tissues Retained by Pathology Services in England and The Removal, Retention and Use of Human Organs and Tissue from Post-Mortem Examination . Also includes other material specifically related to organ and tissue retention.

This annual report celebrates 150 years of the Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer for England by looking at the historical context of the first annual report in 1858, a comparative analysis between the health of the nation in 1858 and 2008 and the continued relevance of some of the issues discussed, such as epidemics, vaccination and competency of healthcare professionals.

Health issues covered in this report include;

Progress on previous years' recommendations;

The effects of passive drinking on families and society and the need for minimum pricing on alcohol units as an immediate priority;

The need for greater research and counselling in regards to prostate cancer;

Greater action on chronic pain through assessment and inclusion on training curriculums;

Minimising antimicrobial resistance through awareness campaigns and other initiatives;

And making medical practice safer by introducing simulation-based training.

Also included is a regional focus on some local problems, trends and initiatives across England.

Health issues covered in this report include;

Progress on 2001 and 2002 recommendations;

The harmful effects of smoking on people's skin;

The economic impact of smoke-free public places and work-places;

The importance of early detection and diagnosis of HIV;

A review of academic medicine and medical research;

And use of blood and safety in blood transfusions.

Also included is a regional focus on some local problems, trends and initiatives across England.

The medical tracts contain a series of 129 bound volumes of pamphlets relating to medical matters. These matters include, but are not limited to, addresses from the Royal College of Physicians, along with new research and hypotheses about ailments, symptoms, consequences and cures. There is also a small collection of 'History of Medicine' quarterly magazines, and the occasional instance of a stand alone pamphlet, such as 'Four Centuries of Anatomy,' by Frederick Pybus, A professional biography of William Harvey, and the '1st spasmodic cholera epidemic in York,' published by the Borthwick Institute, York.

Includes Sir Liam's Special Reports Unfinished Business: Proposals for Reform of the Senior House Officer Grade , and Medical Schools: Delivering the Doctors of the Future.

Also includes other material specifically relating to medical education and training.

This is a collection of over 2000 volumes and hundreds of pamphlets, covering the history of medicine and a broad range of medical subjects. The collection is rich in seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth-century works.

It includes books from the medical library of noted South Shields doctor T.M. Winterbottom (1766-1859), and highlights include Erasmus Darwin's Zoonomia (1794), John Abercrombie's Pathological and Practical Researches on Diseases of the Brain and Spinal Cord (1828), considered to have been the first textbook on Neuropathology, and several works by the famed botanist, humanist and physician Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738).

Includes essay by Sir Liam, entitled Respect: An Essential Part of Quality Healthcare, in which he discusses Lord Jakobovits' contribution to medical ethics and ethics in a contemporary context.

Essay featured on pages 61 to 72.

The Hospital Archives are an administrative collection containing statutes and rules, catalogues of medical libraries, early annual reports from the Newcastle Infirmary (founded in 1751) and of the Royal Victoria Infirmary (opened 1906), eighteenth and early nineteenth century reports relating to the Newcastle Dispensary (founded in 1777) and nineteenth century minutes from the meetings of local medical societies.

The archive comprises some printed work by Thomas Hodgkin, letters to and from fellow physicians and a box of notes on medical cases, observations, sketches and various fragments.

Thomas Hodgkin (b.1798 - d.1866) was a British physician, considered one of the most prominent pathologists of his time and a pioneer in preventive medicine. He is now best known for the first account of Hodgkin's disease, a form of lymphoma and blood disease, in 1832. Hodgkin's work marked the beginning of the development of the role of the pathologist in being actively involved in the clinical process.

This is a small collection of papers relating to the early career of Dr. Charles John Gibb (1824-1916), a local doctor who worked at the Newcastle Infirmary before setting up private practice in the city. The papers include certificates of Dr. Gibb's attendance at the Newcastle School of Medicine and his Certificate of Admittance to the Royal College of Surgeons, as well as journals of his travels in Scotland and Europe in 1848 and photographs of the Gibb family home in Sandyford, Newcastle. Dr. Gibb was immortalised in the famous Blaydon Races song: “Sum went to the dispensary, an' uthers to Doctor Gibbs”.