WAR-TIME DUTIES

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 November 1939, Page 8

WAR-TIME DUTIES

ARMY NURSING SCHEME.

WELLINGTON, November 6

The change-over from peace to war conditions in New Zealand has placed on the shoulders of Miss' L. G. Willis, of Wellington, matron-in-chief of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service, a big increase .in the duties 1 pertaining to her office. Some particulars of present activities by the Army Nursing Service were given by Miss Willis in an interview to-day.

The peacetime establishment of the New Zealand Army Nursing Service was laid down as follows 1 : Matron-in-I chief, principal matron, foul* matrons; 132 sisters and 30 staff nurses. Since the outbreak of war some hundreds of New Zealand registered nurses have applied for enrolment. These, applications are considered by the nursing council, consisting of the Director of Nursing Services (Miss Lambie), the matron-in-chief, and Miss Banks, matron of the' Palmerston North Hospital, as 1 representative of the public hospitals. From these applications nurses will be chosen as required for service at home or abroad. Six nurses are already on duty ’at Ngaruawahia, five at Trentham, and four at Burnham camp hospitals. In the event of nurses being sent overseas, all will be given an opportunity to apply. Miss Willis trained at the Wellington General -Hospital, and was registered in 1910. She was a sister at the Wellington Hospital, and later at the Kogarah and Bulli Hospitals in New South Wales. She obtained her midwifery certificate at the women’s hospital, Melbourne’, in 1912, and from that year until 1914 was matron of a private hospital in Wellington. When the Great War broke out, Miss Willis was one of the first New Zealand nurses to go overseas, first to Samoa and later to Egypt, England and France. Her service overseas extended from 1914 to 1918. She was matron of the Featherston camp hospital from 1918 to 1919, which was followed by a year on the staff of the matron-in-chief’s office. She was appointed Health Department assistant-inspector of hospitals in 1920, principal matron in 1921, and matron-in-chief in 1933.