"Prior to 1948 the County Council dealt with all payments to hospital staff. We paid the wages and provided payroll services to both the Chester Royal Infirmary and the City Hospital.
On Monday 5 July 1948 everything had to be transferred from the Council to the accounts department of the new Chester & District Hospital Management Committee in Kings Building.
Mrs Ashworth, who was the accountant at the Royal Infirmary, had, until that day, simply distributed the wages. Now she also had to move to Kings Building to take over and learn the entire payroll process. I remember it was a very big job to transfer everything over. There were no computers in those days of course - all staff payments had to be worked out on great big wages sheets.
Before 1948 the hospitals had to raise money through voluntary donations
for even their general running. There was the Linen League who organised
an annual door-to-door collection. The 'Merseyside Penny-in-the-Pound'
office was near the Infirmary. This was a popular scheme to which
most people in the County Council and local authorities belonged.
A penny for each pound you earned was taken from your wages and if you
were off sick or had to go into hospital you could make a claim.
The money collected in this way supported the hospital and funded employees'
claims for sickness benefit."