PLUNKET SOCIETY

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 25, 29 July 1926, Page 5

PLUNKET SOCIETY

DOMINION CONFERENCE LADY TBUBY KING'S WOBK. The Dominion conference of delegates of the Plunket Society was resumed yesterday afternoon in the Conference Hall, Dominion Farmers' Institute, Jlr3. J. A. Johnstonc (president) was in the chair. Mrs. Cracroft Wilson moved: "That the Plunket Society raise funds to endow a fellowship under the jurisdiction of the Medical School in Dunedin for post-graduate work in child welfare — the fellowship to be called 'The Lady Truby King Fellowship' in enthusiastic appreciation of Lady King's work for the mothers and babies of New Zealand." The mover said that visitors to New Zealand all admitted that the Truby King system was sound and practical. The trend of present day thought was entirely in favour of preventive as against curative medicine. In response to a request from the Prime Minister, the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association had furnished reasons for the establishment of an Institute of Medical Eesearch, and included' in those reasons was a statement as to the importance of further study of child welfare. Statistics showed that 87 per-cent, of the school children of the Dominion required treatment of some kind. It must be recognised that it was our duty in New Zealand to study these problems ourselves. To wait and see what other countries did was selfish and unwise. The speaker briefly outlined the scheme suggested in the remit. The proposal received general support from the delegates, and was adopted. It was left to the Central Council, the Christchurch branch, and Mrs. Gilmour (Lyttelton) to arrange details. MOTOR-CARS TOR COUNTRY NURSES. Mrs. Tatton-Fraser (Waikanae) moved: "We, the Waikanae sub-branch of the Plunket Society, strongly urge that some means of conveyance be provided for nurses in outlying country districts." Several speakers stated that the difficulty could be overcome by the local committee purchasing a motor-car for the nurse to enable her to visit mothers in outlying districts. It was further explained that tho provision of a car meant a great increase in the volume of work done by the nurse. Instances were given of members of branches and sub-branches collecting funds and purchasing a car in order to facilitate and extend tho nurses' work. Miss Pattrick (Director of Plunket Nursing) said there was no question that the provision of a motor-car enabled more extended work to be done by the Plunket nurse. It had been the custom of the executive to advise, if the centre of the nurse's district was on or near the railway, that the purchaso of a motor-car be not hurried, and that the railway be used as much as possible. Further consideration of the remit was postponed. \ A New Plymouth remit, moved by Mrs. A. M. MacDiarmid, framed with tho object of avoiding sending relieving nurses from one island to the other, was withdrawn after an explanation had been given by Mi3S Pattrick, who stated that wherever possible care was taken to obviate the sending of relief nurses from one island to the other.