London Museums of Health and Medicine

The London Museums of Health and Medicine (LMoHM) is a network of over twenty museums, archives, Royal Colleges and institutions that engage the public with health and medicine and its heritage across London.

Formed in 1991, our aim is to increase public awareness about the work of our members across the capital, promoting their collections, events and public engagement activities, as well as providing a support network for members to promote professional development, best practice and foster collaborative working. Individually we are a diverse group in size and scope, however by working together we have enabled all members to raise their profiles.

The benefits of being a member

LMoHM is about broadening the reach of any one organisation, fostering collaboration, and creating a community. Amongst the benefits are:

Collaborative marketing through our network’s website (medicalmuseums.org), social media sites and shared leaflet, members can promote their organisation, collections, events and activities.
Our active mailing list enables members to share information and expertise, and respond quickly to enquiries from other organisations, researchers or the general public.
We hold two annual meetings that foster networking and feature a broad range of speakers.
We identify and organise professional training and development opportunities – often bespoke to the specific challenges of managing medical collections or activities.
The social side! We’ve created a friendly and open group that has created a sense of community and collaboration amongst members.
We carry out joint public engagement activities including an annual Up Close and Personal medical handling event.
We organise profile raising events such as conferences and workshops.
We’ve fostered opportunities to collaborate with other networks.

Keeping in the loop

We use JISCmail to keep in contact with member, as well as for members to communicate with each other.

So subscribe, send an email request to [email protected] with a subscribe "command" - which needs to be formatted as described below: Replace Firstname Lastname with your first and last name.

SUBSCRIBE LMHM Firstname Lastname

Then follow the instructions via email to complete subscription.

Membership & Criteria

Members of the organisation contribute an annual fee of £50 to the group which pays a proportion of costs towards the maintenance of the website, production of a marketing leaflet, running of two annual meetings and contribution of costs to other planned events. There are four categories of membership: Full, Provisional, Associate and Honorary.

Full membership is open to institutions within the London region that have collections in the field of health and medicine available to the public which are accredited to recognised museum or archive standards. Member institutions will each have one vote.

Provisional membership is offered to institutions within the London region that have collections in the field of health and medicine, that are not yet accredited but which demonstrate a commitment to actively working towards recognised museum or archive standards. Provisional membership will be reviewed on a regular basis by an executive committee comprising the elected officers in consultation with the Full Members with a view to conversion from Provisional to Full Member status at the earliest opportunity. Provisional Members are entitled to attend general and ordinary meetings and to participate fully in group discussions and in social and continuing professional development activities. They can expect the support of Full Members towards achieving the standards, which will allow them to become Full Members. Provisional Members will not have voting rights.

Associate Membership is an option open to individuals and institutions ineligible for Full or Provisional membership but have a complementary interest in the aims of the group. Annual associate membership fee is £25. Associate members will not have voting rights.

Honorary Membership may be conferred with discretion to individuals deemed to have made outstanding personal contributions to the aims of the London Museums of Health and Medicine. Such election requires the assent of not less than two thirds of the Full Members and will be tenable for periods of three years but may be renewable.

How to join

If you’d like to join the network, please download the application form and return it to the Chair or Secretary. You will then be invited to present information about your organisation at one of our annual meetings, after which a member's voting in process will be held.

Applications to join should be submitted at least 28 days in advance of the next meeting.

Governance

The LMoHM is governed by a Constitution.

History of LMoHM

Records from its foundation to 1994 are held at the Wellcome Collection.

Archived versions of the website from 2001 to present can be viewed via archive.org.

LMoHM is not responsible for content on external websites, links are provided for members' reference.

Committee and organisation

The network is governed by a constitution and operated by a committee elected by group members, serving a three year term.

Meet the LMoHM Committee for 2024

Chair: Sara Yorath, Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret
Vice Chair: vacant
Secretary: Jessica Rayner, Wellcome Collection
Treasurer: Melissa Wert, Florence Nightingale Museum
Webmaster: Nicholas Thorp, Royal College of Surgeons of England
Marketing Officers: vacant
Engagement Officer: Carla Valentine, Barts Pathology Museum, QMUL

Join the committee

Please see news for details of current vacancies.

Membership to the committee is open to any staff of member organisations. Committee roles are voluntary and the time commitment may vary from 4-10 hours per month, this depends on how much you can commit and what the committee is working on. If you are interested in applying for a position on the committee, please submit a short letter of interest for the role you are interested in, focusing on what you would bring to the role on the committee. Please send this to [email protected]