DISTRICT NURSES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23378, 21 June 1939, Page 17

DISTRICT NURSES

jNEW BASIS PROPOSED THREE outlying areas WIDER SCOPE OF WORK PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMME Proposals for reorganising the basis of the Auckland Hospital Hoard's district nursing son-iocs in tho outlying districts of Great Harrier Island, Waiheke and Silverdnle are shortly to bo discussed at a conference between representatives of the board and the Director-General of Health. Dr. M. H, Watt. It has been suggested that, in addition t« > their medical duties on behalf of the board, tho nurses should perform public health functions for the department. At the indication of the Health Department, preventive medicine plays a not unimportant part in the suggested scheme. Regular school visits for the purpose of medical examination are also suggested, and the department has expressed its willingness to contribute toward tho salaries of the nurses, whom it is suggested should be put 011 a full-time basis. Great Barrier Position For tlie 1(H) residents of Great Barrier Island the scheme will be welcomed. Winter illness was rampant on the island last year, and Mrs, L. G. Mac Lean. who has acted as part-time district nurse 011 a retainer of £'3o a year granted by the Hospital Board, faced a gigantic task in attempting to cover 110 square miles of rugged, mountainous territory; The department recently agreed that Mrs. .Mac Lean should be appointed fulltime district nurse at a salary of £"21o a year, with the addition of a uniform and a horse allowance. With the department contributing £'6o toward the cost of the service, it was suggested that the nurse should, in addition to her ordinary duties, undertake various public health requirements. ■lt is considered by the department that the nurse should make regular visits to Catherine Bay and Wliangaparapara to instruct the Maori residents in general hygiene, maternal and infant welfare, and infectious and skin diseases, and to undertake occasional inoculation against typhoid, and general supervision and follow-un work. It is also proposed that simple nursing treatments should be demonstrated, and that the schools on the island should bp visited. Waiheke Island Duties •The department considers that the salary of the district nurse at Waiheke Island slum Id be brought tip to the same level as the other nurses. The proposed departmental duties would include regular visits to the few Maoris living on the island, with school nursing work in the two schools and a teaching and preventive programme similar to that planned for Great Barrier. As there are 110 Maoris in the district. the departmental duties of the district nurse at Silverdale would mainly involve school work. 1 here are approximately 12G children in six ""schools, and. in addition to visits, it is proposed that she should perform the follow-up work in the homes ol the j children and supervise any tuberculosis 1 cases. ! . The Hospital Board has deferred j consideration of the department's pro- j posals until a conference can hj.? ar- : ranged with Dr. Watt. The chairman, i jfr.T Allan J. Moody, said yesterday tViat no date for the conference had yet ( "Wen fixed. - . .