Nova Gorica Health Centre

The health centre in the town was established in 1956. At first, it operated in private premises, and in 1963 the medical service moved into barracks originally built for the town’s construction workers.

“My parents, Vidojka Majcen Vuga and Miroslav Vuga, were pioneers in the field of healthcare — among the first doctors in Nova Gorica. We moved here from Maribor in 1954. /…/ In the early 1960s, the clinic was located where Borov gozdiček stands today [near the present-day Slovene National Theatre Nova Gorica]. A barrack was converted into a clinic, and in the same building there was also a dentist and a shoemaker. The clinic was open all day. Doctors came not only from the local area but also from elsewhere. My mother first worked as a general practitioner, later as a paediatrician, while my father worked both at the clinic and in the Furniture Factory (later Meblo) for a single salary. Doctors were overworked — in fact, exploited. Both parents also worked in the field; my mother later gave this up. I remember my father being on duty for several days in a row, sometimes up to a week. He would go out into the field, and after his shift he continued working at the clinic. We had a personal car — a small ‘fičo’ — but it was used for work, to reach patients in the field. Often my father slept in the car. A single visit could take six hours or more. We lived in the ‘Russian blocks’ (Block 5, today Kidričeva 32). The buildings were still unfinished, and I often visited the workers, who taught me all kinds of swear words, which I then repeated to my parents.”
(Source: Kamra)

Another elderly resident recalls the dentist Helena Stepančič, who also had her practice in a barrack near the shoemaker.

“She had that machine she operated with her foot. Those drills — it was terrible. That building stood there for quite a long time. A path ran past it, leading towards the grammar school, ‘Hawaii’.”
(field note, November 2024).

In 1951, the first trained midwife began working in the Gorizia area. It was a monovalent service, focused entirely on home births and visits to pregnant women and new mothers.

The daughter of the first midwife recalled:

“My mother devoted herself to assisting women who gave birth at home, entirely naturally, and it often happened that labour lasted two or even three days. At first on foot, later by motorbike and car, with modest equipment, she shared in the joy of many new lives. Her large bag contained a proper pile of clean sheets and cloths, but otherwise only basic tools. What she brought with her above all was knowledge.” (Rijavec 2017).

The first midwife was also remembered by a participant in an ethnographic workshop:

“My first child was difficult to deliver, so I thought labour takes a long time. I was dancing around with my big belly. I liked eating natural food, dandelion greens. That evening I made dandelion with beans for dinner. At two in the morning I felt cramps and thought — well, that’s just the dandelion and beans. But that ‘bloating’ was actually labour. My husband saw something wasn’t right and ran to fetch the midwife in Ščednje, a woman named Pepca. She came quickly, saw the situation, and they called an ambulance. It wasn’t like the first time — the baby was coming. They had to stop in Vipava, where I gave birth, and then they took me to Postojna. Afterwards the midwife came to check on me.” (Ethnographic workshop, November 2022).

As the town developed, the healthcare system expanded and modernised. In 1996, a new health centre building was constructed, followed by the gradual opening of specialist clinics and the emergency medical service.

Avtor: Jasna Fakin Bajec

Kraj: Nova Gorica

Vir:

• Rijavec, Janja. 2017. Zdravstveni doma Nova Gorica. V: Skupnih 70 – Posebna revialna izdaja in priloga ob 70-letnici mesta in 70-letnici priključitve Primorske matični domovini. Ljubljana: Tiskarsko središče Dela, str. 24. 
• Zdravstvena ambulanta Nova Gorica, Nova Gorica: Zgradili smo mesto, digitalni arhiv Kamra.si. Vir: (Vir: https://www.kamra.si/mm-elementi/zdravtstvena-ambulanta-nova-gorica/, (ogled: 5. 12. 2024)

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