PLUNKET SOCIETY

Press, Issue 29236, 21 June 1960, Page 2

PLUNKET SOCIETY

Branch’s Work For Month

The president (Mrs A. hose) presided at the monthly meeting of the general committee of the Christchurch branch of the Plunket Society. The newly-elected president of the Woolston subbranch (Mrs N. Forbes) was welcomed to the committee.

The president reported that Miss N. E. F. Fisher had been appointed matron of the Karitane Hospital and would take up her duties at the beginning of next year. Miss Fisher, who is at present ’utor sister at the Dominion training centre for Plunket nurses, Truby-King-Harris Hospital, Dunedin, gained her general nursing certificate at the Christchurch Hospital in 1947 and her maternity certificate in Blenheim in 1948. She worked for a year as a sister in the maternity annexe at Ashburton and at Lewisham Hospital in Christchurch before going overseas. Miss Fisher spent four years in England, where she worked for six months at a children’s convalescent home, and undertook various other private and hospital nursing duties.

Miss Fisher gained her Plunket certificate in 1954, and after spending two years and a half as a Plunket nurse in Hawera. she attended the Post-Graduate School for Nurses, Wellington, as a Plunket Society bursar in 1957. gaining the diploma of nursing in hospital administration. She was then appointed tutor sister at the Truby King-Harris Hospital. Maori Representatives

Members of the committee were told that Mrs R. Mackie had been nominated by the Maori Women’s Welfare League to represent the Maori race on the committee.

Mrs E. Lowe (secretary of the Karttane Nurses* Bureau) reported that there was an Increase in requests for the services of trained Karitane nurses. For May, 37 nurses had been sent out to various homes.

Sister B. Helliwell (charge sister) presented her report for the month which showed that mothercraft lectures were being given regularly to eight groups in the secondary schools (212 pupils). Classes in mothercraft were held three times weekly at the Plunket rooms and during the month 67 expectant mothers had attended these classes. At a class for fathers, there had been an attendance of 12 fathers: instruction in this class included prevention of accidents in the home, the selection of suitable toys, preparation of milk mixture for the baby, tucking the baby down, and bathing the baby, A group of girls from a Giris’ Life Brigade troop were alto attending for instruction in mothercraft. ’ ,