Workhouse Infirmary Deaths 1881 &1894

[Godrevy16]

I have a husband and wife dying in the workhouse infirmary and both death certs are signed by their niece "present at death" and giving her home address.
Would the couple concerned actually been inmates of the actual workhouse or would this have been an early hospital perhaps paying privately for care?
Any ideas please
Miffy52

[lizdb]

"workhouse infirmary" suggests the hospital part of the set up.

So they could have been inmates, or could have lived elsewhere and just been admitted to the infirmary.

Where is the one that died in 1894 living in 1891?  If they were still at home then it suggests that the one dying in 1881 was only admitted to hospital - there would have been no reason for them to have gone into the workhouse if they had a home and a spouse.

[a-l]

They might have been too ill for their family to care for so went into the infirmary for care during whatever time they had left. Some of mine did that if that helps.

[MaxD]

This NHS site is good on the subject

www.nhshistory.net/poor_law_infirmaries.htm as is the Peter Higginbotham site to which it refers.

maxD