ABSTRACT
By 1866, Hugh Owen Thomas had moved his practice to 11 Nelson Street, an area that was quickly becoming known as Chinatown. Thomas was a busy general practitioner at Nelson Street and he was dedicated to his patients. The Thomas splint consisted of two rigid rods attached to a ring that fitted around the thigh, used to immobilise the thigh to treat fractures of the femur. These are Thomas splint and Thomas test. In 1873, Thomas nephew, Robert Jones, also a doctor, wrote an account of Thomas typical day. The hospital provided Thomas with the opportunity to try out ideas he had learned from Bennett, about the importance of fresh air for patients. As he aged Thomas began to realise that, as many of the medical professions’ views towards his work were less than supportive, it was quite possible that all his innovations and methods would die with him.
