HEALTH OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

Otago Witness, Issue 3511, 28 June 1921, Page 51

HEALTH OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN.

ANNUAL MEETING- OF SOCIETY. Th« annual meeting of the Royal New Zealand Society for ilie Health of Women and Children was held on the 23rd i-ist. at the town liali. The attendance was -very large, numbering about ICO and representing all sections of the community, a good testimony to the work the society "is achieving and to the continued growth of public interest and appreciation. L)r A. Cameron presided. Among many apologies for inability to bo present was a telegram from Mrs King, on behalf of Dr Truby King, general president of the society and Director of Child Welfare for New Zealand. Mrs King intimated that Dr King had hurt himself not seriously, and would soon be all right again. Dm Valentine and Wylie, of the Public If cal tli Department, and Sir Francis Bell, the Hon. ( . J. Parr, and the Hon. Downio Stewart also forwarded apologies.' in moving the adoption of file report and balance sheet, Dr Cameron first returned thanks for being given the privilege of presiding. He said that for a considerable time ho was it. close proximity to the Kuritnnc Harris Hospital, and saw a good deal of tho work that was being done. The more he saw of it the more he was impressed with its value and the more Jio rejoiced in tho way in which it continued

to grow. For a while there was but the one centre, but now the society had spread throughout the length and breadth of the dominion, so that the good work begun some 14 years ago had become a very important factor in the life of the community, when he was over in Australia less than three years ago, a meeting of social workers gathered from all parts ot Australasia, and he was surprised to find what a widespread interest there was m the work of the society, and how eager the women of all parte of Australia were to gather information about the work being done. Ho thought there was great reason to be proud of the work begun here, a work that had grown so and was doing so much for the community. He had great pleasure in moving the adoption of the report land balance sheet It was one of which the society should be proud. It spoke of work of the highest importance well done. During- the year there were some 66 nurses in training at the hospital; 25 completed training tfs Plunket nurses, and 10 as Karitane "nurses. That in itself showed how greatly the work had grown. If the number of visits made by Plunket nurses were noted and the number of visits paid to the nurses’ offices none could fad to realise that the work was growing rapidly. Dr Cameron went on to speak of the great difficulties 'hat had had -o be overcome, and the prejudices standing in the way, particularly referring to the notion that what was good enough for the parents of the past was good enough to-day. ' It was not easy at times for the Plunket nurses to convince the young mother that there was a better v.a’y <>f handling baby than that practised by the grandmother. The work being done by the society was of vital importance to the whole community. He congratulated the society on the successful manner m which the work was being carried on, and expressed the hope that the report would bo heartily adopted. He noticed that the report said that money was needed, some £IO4O, tc pay off the debt lor building and furnishing. He hoped that the money would quickly be forthcoming and that the endowment fund of the society would bo raised very much above the amount at which it at present stood. Mr C. E. Statham. M.P., in seconding the motion, said that while all must- feel justified and thankful at the wonderful developments and attainments of medical and surgical science, he would like to emphasise the fact that a great many of the ills to which flesh was heir were probably due to the conditions of modem civilisation. It was true that people were ver;,' often ignorant of the laws of Nature, but there were many cf the poorer classes who had not the advantages of hygienic surroundings. Looking at the whole matter fairly and squarely we had to recognise that all the much vaunted attainments were only directed to bringing us back to the doors of health, the birthright of every man and woman born into the world. The society recognised the truth cf the old adage' that prevention is better than cure, and so it had set itec'f to teach people to start at the beginning. The community was very much indebted to Dr Trubv King in regard to the work; he had devoted his whole life to it, and all were gratified that he had become the first Director of Child Welfare in New Zealand. In regard to the Government policy towards the society, Mr Statham said he was glad to see that the Prune Minister last year intimated that it was actually part of the policy of the present Government to encourage the Plunket Society and assist it. lie (Mr Statham) desired to say that that should be the policy of any party in power. JVji' Massey had also said that lie would sooner see tlie work being done by such a society as that now carrying it on than by a department of State. With that he '(Mr Statham) concurred. Mr Massey, speaking as head of the Government, and on behalf of every member of it, had stated that money spent in the work was money well expended, apt! he tooua!it they got particularly good value for it. He could see no end to the use lulu ess of the socity, and he foresaw the time when every town in Now Zealand would have p branch of the society. Mr Statham expressed the hope that the Government iron'd always show practical sympathy to the society, and always stop up to the mark and' render the financial assistance to which the society was. justly entitled. (Applause.) In conclusion, Mr Statham hoped the society would continue to prosper and continue the good work it had so successfully carried on during the past few years. The report was adopted. (Mr L. Kellett, M.P., was called upon to move the adoption of the following officeboat ers for the ensuing year:—President, Mrs .). A. Johnstone; vies -presidents—fidy Aden, Mcsdamcs Callaway, J csf ,,;, M•George, W. A. Moore, J. \\l. Ritchie. John Ross, and T. K. Sidey; committee— Mesdames Aiken, Ansell-Hodson, Arundel, Bogg, Champtaloup, Curmirig-hame, A. Isaacs., Jackson. Carmalt Jones, Kelly, J. C APGeorge, M'Ribbon, M'Killop, M'Larmi Mandeno, A. _ (J. Matheeon, O’Neill, C\ \\ . Rattray, K. Ross, Urn, Solomon, Sister Nora, Professor Ruwson Commandant Simpson, Mieses Gow, Joachim, F. and N. Reid, 1 townie Stewart. 0.8. K. ; Advisory Board—Dr Truby King, C.M.G., Messrs 1 eter .Barr, E. If. Carr, Leslie Hairis, G. R. Ritchie, P. it. Sergood, T. K. Sidey, M.P. : honorary surgeon. Dr L. E. Barnett’ C.M.G.; honorary bacteriologist, Dr S. T’’ Oiainptaloup; honorary dental surgeon Dr PiekoriU; honorary analyst, ]) r “ Inglis; honorary physicians (Km itane-Harns Ho r-it-al) —Dre Truby King, 0.M.G.. E. 11. Williams. S. B. W Strain. F. S Batchelor, K. Ross, Russell Ritchie, T. Harrison; honorary solicitor. Mr Geo. Mondy; honorary- treasurer, Mrs D E. Thcomin ; honorary foreign correspondent, Mr W. Jenkins. Tlie motion was seconded by Rev. F. G. Gumming. Both Mr Kellett and Mr Gumming bore testimony to the good work of the society, and made particular mention of the excellent service rendered by the office-bearers during the year just closed. This concluded the business side of the meeting. Dv Carmalt Jones afterwards delivered an instructive and timely address on “Breathing.” On the motion of Mr Peter Barr, be was accorded a hearty vote of thanks. Mr Balfour moved a vote of thanks to the chairman-. and the proceedings concluded with the singing of ‘God Save the King.” THE ANNUAL REPORT. Til a f ourteenth annual report of the Dunedin. branch of tlie Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children, which has been issued in attractive booklet form, gives much interesting information, beginning with Ihe statement that the infantile mortality rate

for Dunedin last year was 5.9 per cent. Ihe average for the four main cities was 6.3 per cent., and the rate foi the whole dominion was 5 per cent. KARITANE-HARRIS HOSPITAL. During the year there we'.e several changes in the matronship of the hospital. While Miss Moreland was on holiday in Australia, Mrs Tythe Brown (formerly Matron Campbell) took charge for two months, and the committee records its appreciation of her devotion. On Miss Moreland’s resignation, Miss Allan, Plunket nurse •at Gisboi-ne, was appointed in her stead. Unfortunately, she was not able to take up the position owing to ill-healtli, and Plunket Nurse Scott assumed the matronship, pending the arrival of Miss Pattric-k, the i.ewiy-appointed director cf Plunket nursing. In September Miss Pattrick took charge of the institution, and reorganised the course of training for both Plunket and Karitane nurses. She held the position until the end of January, when Miss M’Millan, a Prince Alfred (Sydney) nurse, who had taken a special course of training under Dr Truby King and Miss Pattrick at the Babies of the Empire Institution in london took over the matronship. In spite of these changes the work went steadily ahead, as the following report shows:—From April 1, 1920, to March 31, 1921, 149 babies and 49 mothers were admitted and resident in the hospital for treatment, the largest number in residence at any one time being: Babies, 24: mothers, five—total, 29. The average length of time under treatment in the hospital was three weeks for the babies. Seven mothers came in for 24 hours only; the time in residence of the remaining 42 averaged a fortnight. Of the babies admitted during the year, eight came from Central Otago, 17 from Southland, 23 from Otago outside Dunedin, and the remainder from the district of Dunedin. The Amy Carr Cottage for Mothers has been in full occupation the last few months, and constant evidence is being received as to the benefits derived by the mother during her stay there. A tablet has been placed in the sitting room of the cottage in memory of our late president, Mrs F. 11. Carr, who, from the inception of the society, made the cause of mother and babv her life work. Of the 149 babies under treatment, seven died —a mortality rate of 4.6 per cent. TRAINING OF NURSES. During the past year the general training scheme for nurses has been reorganised, and the scope of the ground covered during training has been extended. Ii was found necessary to increase the term of training for general hospital nurses from three months to four months accordingly. Sixty-six nurses, have been in training for longer or shorter periods during the year. Twenty-six nurses have qualified as Plunket nurses, and 10 nurses have qualified as Karitane baby nurses. There are 29 nurses in training at present. Five nurses have retun eu to the training centre to take a short refresher course. Eight nurses from Australia have come over to take the special four months’ course, and live have already qualified and returned to take up special work in connection with infant welfare work in the (Commonwealth. NEW BUILDINGS. The new buildings and additions at the Karitane-Harris Hospital have been completed during the year. The building which will be used later on for the motherera ft branch has been utilised to accommodate the increased number of trainees at the Karitane-Harris Hospital. PLUNKET NURSES. During the year 1183 babies were treated by the nurses, 576 being new cases. The number of visits paid to the homes was 8863, while 6586 visits were paid by adults and babies to the rooms. The number of bottles of humanised milk sent out during the year was 93,446. FINANCE. The committee tnanlis the Government for the maintenance grant of £ISOO for the Karitane-Harris Hospital, also for the subsidies for the Plunket nurses employed by the Dunedin branch. Tlie building grant of £1250 from the Government which appears in this year’s balance sheet, was promised for tlie year ended March 31, IS2O, by tlie Hon. G. W. Russell, then Minister of Public Health, but was not received until April 1, 1920 —too late for inclusion in last year’s balance sheet. The further grant of £1950 for building purposes for the Karitane-Harris Hospital was held over for consideration by the Health Department, but the society hopes to receive the same almost immediately-. It has been fully recognised that the money used in erecting the new buildings and in carrying out general alterations and improvements at the hospital has been well spent. The handsome donations received from Mr Wolf Harris of, £SOO and from Mr George 11. Wilson of £IOO materially helped the society in carrying out its work. The committee has received generous donations towards the upkeep of the Ivan-tane-Tlarris Hospital from the Wellington, Waimaio, and Petone branches of £25. £5. and £3 3s respectively, and to these branches it tenders very grateful thanks for the welcome additions io the hospital funds. The endowment fund for the Kai-i----taneHarris Hospital, of which the interest alone is available, has this year been increased by £lO 16s 7d, making in all £3353 Is Id. The committee reminds friends of its ambition to build the fund up to £IO,OOO. Thanks are offered to the Hospital Helpers’ Association for a cheque for £l3O, the society’s share of th n annual collection taken up by the association. “We need scarcely remind well-wishers,” pursues the committee, “that donations for building and general upkeep of the hospital and branches are much needed, and will be gratefully received. We still have to raise £1046 towards the building and furnishing. The increased number of patients, trainees, and staff, which the very necessary extensions to the hospital have permitted, has perforce meant much heavier expenditure in running the institution, quite apart from the increased cost of living.”