NURSES’ HEALTH

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22436, 24 June 1938, Page 19

NURSES’ HEALTH

PRECAUTIONS TAKEN WELLINGTON SYSTEM EXPLAINED (press association telegram.) WELLINGTON. June 23. An outline of the precautions taken to protect the health of the nurses in the Wellington Hospital was given by the Medical Superintendent (Dr. A. R. Thorne) to-day. The greatest risk occurred where tubercular and diphtheria cases were' being nursed, he said, but special measures were taken which kept the incidence of infection comparatively low. Every care was taken to see that probationers were healthy on admission and afterwards, and a course of physical culture was used to remedy minor physical defects. The hospital had introduced the Mantoux test, which had recently been initiated in large hospitals overseas to guard against tubercular infection. This test proved whether or not trainees had been infected and enabled the hospital to separate the comparatively immune from the non-infected and therefore susceptible cases. During the two years the test had been used there had Only been four cases of pulmonary infection, and 15 of a minor manifestation.

There was a minor epidemic of diphtheria among the nurses in 1937 due to several being carriers. Inoculation had been carried out and all trainees entering hospital were now tested and immunised if necessary. Ohly a few cases had since developed among the nurses particularly virulenl cases of the disease.