Retirement Of World Nurses’ Secretary

Press, Volume C, Issue 29480, 5 April 1961, Page 2

Retirement Of World Nurses’ Secretary

The Pestalozzi Children’s Village in Sussex, an international home for refngy children, may claim the attention of Miss D. C. Bridges when she returns to England later this year. At present visiting Christchurch, Miss Bridges is general secretary of the International Council of Nurses in London- She is due to retire after 47 years’ service to nursing on the last day of the grand council meeting of the LC.N. in Melbourne on April 22.

The Pestalozzi Village, Miss Bridges said, was not fully developed in England as yet The children who were refugees from various European countries were at present living in one house. They would eventually have a village to themselves with different nationalities grouped in separate homes and a “mother” supervising each one. "The idea is to teach children die spirit of international fellowship while still very young," she said yesterday. “The nationalities are mixed for education and relaxation but they retain the cultures and habits at their individual countries in the different homes.” Not only refugee children were cared for here. Some were not from overseas but were living there because their own home conditions were poor or not suitable to them. Weald Have Retired Miss Bridges has held her present post for the last 13 years. She was asked to apply for it when she was on the

point of retiring from her nursing career. Since her appointment to the position Miss Bridges has travelled a great deal in the interests of the council Among its many responsibilities is a task headed ’’Leglslation for Nursing” through which the council assists countries to pass laws in an effort to standardise nursing. Usually a senior member of the council would go to the country concerned, first to help the nurses draft a proposed nursing law and then often to advise ministers on the law. Miss Bridges has visited 32 countries in the last 13 years to give help on this matter and others within the scope of the council. Her deputy has also visited 10 Latin-American countries, Pakistan and Israel. In London Miss Bridges has a staff of 20. Six are former nurses and the remaining 14 are highly-qualified in various secretarial duties. The council also publishes a twomonthly journal, the “International Nursing Review.”

Miss Bridges could never forget the date of her start on

a nursing career. It was the day of the outbreak of World War I when she joined the Fed Cross Nursing Corps. She continued with that -work for the next four years. General Training Then she went to the Nightingale School at St. Thomas’s Hospital, London, to do her general training and after completing this remained at the hospital for another 14 years. Post-graduate nursing administration work in London claimed her next and this led to posts concerned with nursing education in the postgraduate field in Canada and the United States. When World War II broke out Miss Bridges was a member of the British Army Nursing Service Reserve and for the next six years she worked in France, Egypt and India. When she returned to England Miss Bridges first considered retiring. Now her : etirement date

has been made final and when she is asked about future plans, she is a little undecided. "I am looking forward to doing a little less than I am at the moment,” she said hopefully. But already she has been appointed to a committee of the National Health Serviceone dealing with hospital management which is responsible for a group of hospitals. It has a number of sub-com-mittees dealing with different aspects of nursing in the hospitals. Then Miss Bridges has a large “family” of greatneices and great-nephews she would like to see more of. “They are all growing up now.” she said. She is very fond of reading for relaxation and favourite subjects include travel, history and biography. After the council meeting she will return to her home in Chelsea by way of the United States. Miss Bridges will leave Christchurch for Wellington tomorrow.