The contribution of the Hospital Saturday Fund to nursing history: evaluation of a primary source.

The Hospital Saturday Fund was established as a means of providing much-needed contributions to the voluntary hospitals. Subscribing to the Fund ensured the contributor's care, but, additionally, they could sponsor a 'deserving object'. The annual reports of the Fund provide a number of insights in relation to the social, economic and political history of Liverpool. The reports also provide some insights into nursing in the city during the period 1888-1927. Following documentary analysis, the paper discusses some of these findings, namely district nursing, services for women and convalescence, and evaluates how useful this source may be to nursing history.