GENERAL CONFERENCE.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVII, Issue 142, 18 June 1913, Page 6

GENERAL CONFERENCE.

After the Health Campaign throughout the Dominion, the most important ©vent in the annals of the Society was the General Conference of representatives from the branches, old and new, in conjunction with the Health Department, which took place in Christchurch last month. At this meeting, which was attended throughout by the Chief Health Officer, much! important business was transacted. The constitution of the Society was confirmed, and the pre-existing rules and instructions for the guidance of Plunket nurses were co-ordinated end classified. These are about to be issued in pamphlet form.

RELATIONSHIP OF THE! SOCIETY TO Tim PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT.

The financial position of the Society was placed upon a stable footing, and its relationship to the Department of Public Health was clearly defined! as follows, in conjunction with the Chief Health Officer:—

(1) That the funds of the Society shall be subsidised at the rate of 24s in each pound of the Society's funds subscribed up to £100 for each Pluhket nurse appointed. A similar subsidy shall be paid on, other sums collected for this purpose, provided only one claim for each subsidy is made during the financial year.

(2) That the above subsidy shall be procurable through the mechanism of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board of the district in which the main work of the particular nurse will be carried on.

(3) That the provisions of the Hospital and Charitable Institutions Act are availed of, not at all from the point of view of "charity," . but with •a. clear recognition of the fact that the functions of the Society, while broadly "humanitarian," are not "patronising or charitable," nor even in the ordinary sense "philanthropic," but essentially "patriotic and educational." '.

(4) That it is in the highest interests of the State that this form of education' shall be free, and that, as far as possible, every woman in the Dominion shall be induced to avail herself of the services offered by the Society with a view to the betterment of the race, the recipient herself being always regarded as a potential health advocate and teacher.

The only stipulations which the Health Department suggested with regard to the Government subsidies allowed to the local branches of the Society were:—

_ (1) That the branches of the Society adopt a uniform system of accounts, the balance sheet of each branch to be submitted to the department within three months/ of the 31st March, the end of the Government financial year. (2) That any proposal of tihe Society to form additional branches be referred to the department. (3) That the names of nurses whom it is proposed to appoint for training with a view to Plunket-nursing be submitted to the District Health Officer.

*.i Pointed out by Br Valintine tiiap it a Plunket nurse reported that infantile diarrhoea was specially prevalent in a particular area, the District Health Officer, being in touch with all the diaries in the district might be able to put his finger on a weak spot in. the local milk supply and thus render great assistance in checking the epidemic. RESOLUTIONS PASSED AT CONFERENCE. The following resolutions weire passed unanimously:— (1) That an effort be made to extend and 00-ordinate the principle of quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly conferences, with representatives of tn© various humanitarian and philanthropic societies, with a view to further co-operation. (The question of overlapping was raised, but it was abundantly demonstrated that there had been no overlapping in the work done by tne Society's nurses.) - (2) That further measures ba oonoerted with a view to maintaining and promoting esprit de corps, conformity unity, and harmonious working and development throughout the various branches of the Society. 11S® I? roforence ••fco'tho decision "of tine Conference to have all the branches represented on the, Central JJouneil, it was agreed as follows:— That a special meeting of the Central Council- should be held every six months in Dunedin, at which delegates representing the different Societies would attend, to discuss matters brought forward by any of the branches, such, questions to be submitted in writing to the special secretary of the Council before tthe first i week m June .and the first week in December of each year. (4) That further representation be made to the Government an to the desrra.bility of legislation, or other public measures, in the direction of preventing the use of the longtube feeder

and descrediting fhe dummy. (Br VdLintino said he would endeavor to have a clause prohibiting the sale of longtube feeders inserted in the Food and Drugs Act.) (5) That representation be made to the authorities of the various hospitals, with a. view to inducing them to further avail themselves of the services of the Plunket nurses, in order to ensure suitable home after-oare of infants discharged from such institutions. (Dt Valintine said the suggestion was an excellent one. When mothers and their infants came out of tha hospital, there was no present guarantee that the necessary treatment would be followed up.) (6) The. following resolution, which was carried unanimously, was the outcome of a suggestion that Plunket nurses, especially in country places, might undertake work beyond what was contemplated in the rules and regulations of the Society, at the option of the local committees: —That, in tho opinion of this Conference, the value of the services of the Plunket nurse to the Dominion for the special educational Health Mission and services, for which she is appointed, would tend to become narrowed and restricted, in the djirtedtion ,of 'personally helping and ministering to a comparatively few persons in the way of maternity nursing or for the emergencies of disease or accident, if any indication were given that such matters came within the potential sphere of her duties. Further, that it would be highly undesirable to leave these vitally important considerations to local decision and ruling, because siich a policy would place, not only the committees, but their advisers, doctors, and others in an invidious position, when asked, in [response to local piressure, to say whether or not, in their opinion, the nurse's services should be held available in a way not embraced in the essential nature and spirit of tihe constitution and intentions of the Society, but in a direction that would be welcome to, and appreciated by, certain persons or their friends who might personally benefit thereby.

In reply to a question from Rotorua asking whether, as the Gentre was a small one and the district scattered, their Plunket nurse might act as a maternity nurse in an emergency, it was decided that in the case of Rotorua a special extension of the nurse's sphere of work be permitted in that sine may attend maternity cases, with the proviso that she is not to be regarded as a 'maternity nurse except for the purpose of tiding over an emergency, and that she is not to remain with the patient for more than 24 hours. The nurse to keep a record of all such cases, and the committee to submit a report, at the Conference to be held in Wellington next year. It was unanimously agreed that the services of the Plunket nurse in her special educational health mission be available gratis to any member of the community whether rich or poor, as he):)etiotfojhe. Alb tOi© isami© time, it was considered right that parents who can afford to pay for help should continue to be given the chance of doing so, and should, if necessary, be tactfully reminded that it isl open to them to make a donation to th© Society's fund's in appreciation of services rendered; further, that if they are not already members, they can become so.