Escape from the Bedpan

Sophie Hope contemplates the bedpan – “this embarrassing, awkward object” – from different angles.


Episode 027     March 10, 2023
Contributors    Sophie Hope    

Sophie Hope draws on her recent experience as a patient in a National Health Service hospital in London to explore the histories, economics and significance of the bedpan in acute care settings.

Taking the title from a 1951 article in The Canadian Medical Journal, Sophie embarks on an inquiry into why, despite protestations over 70 years ago that “the use of a bedpan is a horrid, humiliating business” it remains in usage today.

With the help of Stuart Hall’s circuit of culture method Sophie spends time contemplating this embarrassing, awkward object from different angles.

Sophie would like to thank all of the NHS nurses, HCAs, physios, friends and family who have been helping her on the road to recovery.