Former silver-solderer and NHS nurse appeals for information following asbestos related diagnosis

The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, so we have called her Mary, worked as a silver solderer for General Electric Company (GEC) between 1954 and 1966 at the Witton Works, in Birmingham. Mary’s silver soldering to make electrical components involved using a heat resistant mat.

Mary also recalls working near to lagged pipes at the factory and she spent time inside a workshop, where sheets, which were used for the electrical components, were cut to size.
 
Mary then worked for the NHS, at St Margaret’s Mental Health Hospital from 1976 until the early 1980s. She worked as a Domestic Assistant at Adams Home, in Great Barr, Birmingham, where patients with mental health conditions were cared for. She recalls that there were lagged pipes in the building which were frequently damaged by the patients, which meant that regular repairs took place to the pipes in her working environment.
 
Mary went on to become a nurse for the NHS for 15 years, before retiring in 1995. She has two sons and her family continues to live in the Birmingham area.
 
The Leigh Day asbestos claims team, who represent Mary, would like to speak with other people who worked for GEC at the Witton Works between 1954 and 1966, and also to people who worked at St Margaret’s Hospital in Birmingham between 1976 and the early 1980s.
 
Leigh Day solicitor Andrew Cooper said:
 
“Asbestos was used in a variety of ways in both factories and in hospital buildings.  Unfortunately, cases of asbestos disease have increasingly been found in hospital staff. It would be very helpful to speak to other people who recall working at the same locations to Mary at similar times, to assist with our investigations.”

Anyone who can help is asked to contact Andrew Cooper on acooper@leighday.co.uk