The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORTED THE EGMONT SETTLER. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1911. NURSING IN THE BACKBLOCKS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 45, 7 October 1911, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORTED THE EGMONT SETTLER. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1911. NURSING IN THE BACKBLOCKS.

In various parts of file Dominion nurses have been placed in outlying districts at the cost of the settlers, and have proved themselves oi great value. The chief object of these district nurses is to afford competent nursing, which otherwise would be denied to backblock settlers except at the expenditure of much money and time. Such nurses prove highly useful in'the direction of preparing cases before removal to town for medical treatment. There is a j art her direction in which a . district nrrso would he exceedingly useful .n the hinterland of tho Stratford dicin' t. From time to time people are brought into town who are not in a dangerous condition, and who do not. really need tho attentions of a medical man. In .each cases much money and anxiety might ho saved if the distiict nurse were able to say at onoe, wit u fair accuracy, whether or rot the case required medical attention. A case which occurred in this d’strict not /cry long ago illustrates this point, domowhere in tho back country a man cut, himself badly on a lie knee and at once ho was hurried towards the railway, and the hospital authorities were telephoned to, asking them to he ready to receive him by that afternoon's train. The preparations were duly made, hut when the man arrived it was found that the efforts made on his behalf wore entirely unnecessary, a few stitches only being reinired and, in fact, all that could he •done. The cut was a had one, and it is commendable that 4 be people of the district should have clone as •nuc-i for the injured man as they did ; bat a, certain amount of money and , great deal of effort and worry would have been saved if a district nurse had been on the spot and could have

;nrod tho man that there was no

nisa for alarm, or, peril ais, even t<

aare put in the necessary stitches licrself. in the directum of spread iim knowledge as to proper treatinoiu

in cases of sickness or injury a district nurse would also lie ii.\ aluahlo. In. cases of accident, wir’ d', came under her notice, she could p,, usually educate nenple out of the hairt of pjvinp stimulants indiscriminately to people who have .net with injury. At nresent doctors complain that there scorns to he a belief on the part of most people that the first punciplo of first aid is to administer stimulants,

with the result that a nine out ol ten accident eases they rind the patient in a. condition which makes it difficult to carry out any operation which may ho necessary. Fo> some months now the matter of piocuring a nurse for tiio Stratford district lias been under eonsiderati m. At tnc Juno meeting, of the Stratford Hospital Board the question wa« brought ap by Mr Sidney Ward, and Mr Athol .Meredith was requested to approach settlers utali a view io ascertaining u hat support would be fc" thcomiag. At the July meeting Mr Meredith reported that although settlers thought the idea was an excellent one the matter of finance stood in the way in each case. They thought that if they had to engage tire nurse in t leir homes at a cost of £3 3s a week it would bo just as well to bring the patient to Stratford. Mr Bellriage ■ chairman of the Taranaki Hospital Board, was in attendance, and was asked by the chairman to explain the district nursing scheme. He said be was convinced that the movement would spread. '1 lie question of finance should not he allowed to obtrude its he, as the saving of human life was the most important matter. Every cits trice should bo able to raise £SO a year, which would enable them to c-cure the services of a nurse. At Bruti the Taranaki Board had established a district nurse and the settlors were delighted with the scheme. The nurse at Uruti had saved more than one life. Settlers should be asked to supply a guarantee. A hundred at ten shillings or fifty at a pound would provide £SO. On this the Go/eminent subsidy would be £OO, leaving £4O to be provided by the Hospital Board tc make up the £l5O per tear which i 1

was thought should bo paid to the ■ nurse. As to accornmo lat'on, it was usually endeavoured to nave her put up at the house attached 11 thschool in the district, at her own expense, of course. At Uruti it was usually found that the nurse -pent the most of her time between ilia houses of the settlors in attending to illness. The affairs of the nurse would be managed by a committee chosen from the contributors. At Uruti 25s per week was charged for the nurse’s services, subscribers to ri? guarantee fund being charged only £l. If there was a surplus ■is the end of the year he thought it should he set aside for. the purpose of providing a small cottage hospital. Mr Ward then moved that if Whangamouiona settlors subscribe £6O the Board will subsidise the amount (with Government subsidy) up to £l5O. This motion was carried, and a number of names ol out-back settlers were handed in asbeing suitable people to canvass for subscribers. To these gentlemen the secretary, Mr T. Harry Penn, wrote as follows:—“I am instruct-id to write to you with the view of securing your assistance in bringing to, notice of settlers in your d'strict the advantages' of the District Nursing Scheme adopted by the Board, and inducing them to become members of a local association. Hie procedure is as follows:—The settlers of the district to be served, form themselves into an association which subscribe: £6O per annum to the funds of the Board. Our Board appoints a specially qualified person, a certificated midwife, as District Nurse, and pays her salary. She lives at some central place in the district, and is under the control of the local association. The association fixes the fees to bo paid for her services, usually about 3s 6d per day, some difiercnce being made in the fees charge i to subscribers to the fund and non-subscribers. The nurse collects the fees and for wards them to the Board, which imr. use them in reduction of the guarantee required from the association or allow them to accumulate as the nucleus of a fund for erecting a cottage hospital in the back country. Possibly sufficient support will hi forthcoming to require the. appoint meat of two nurses, stationed, say. one at Strathmore and one at Whangamomona.” These letters bore fruit to a certain extent, off.ns of suppon being freely given, but the scheme h still far from being an .'.ccomplishec fact.—everything has been done except putting the organisation in working order. A letter, which probably applies to the majority of those whe are canvassing, was read at the last meeting of the Hospital Board. Tin names of twenty-one settlers u ho had agreed to become members of the as sociation were forwarded, and the writer stated:—“l am glad to heat that the District Nursing Scheme ha: received so much support. 1 regret to say that I shall nob bo able t got a meeting together, as 1 am now so very busy and my boys are awaj From home. I am a very poor hand at public speaking, though my sympathy is entirely with the movement.” No doubt it is true of the majority o; those who have been entrusted wit! the organisation of the scheme thai they are at present “very busy” and are not brilliant as “p ihlu speak ers” ; but it is highly necessary that the organisation should bo con plotcd these two not altogether insuperahk lifiknlties nothwithstao ling. Settler? should, therefore, make some sacrifice in order to he present at the meeting to ho held in ,hc Strathmore Hal! ,m Monday afternoon to form a District Nursing Association fc- the Tututana, Makahu, Strathmore, To Worn, Pohokura, Kioro ami Hniioa districts. The merits of the sc 1 omo arc u limited on all sides, and the settlors of the districts coo •< rr.ocl have offered support which will ensure the success of the scheme, and it now merely lemains for delegates fiom the districts concerned to meet tovethrr and form in iss.rffiuinn. The hardest work will have been done whei the association has boon formed and the delegates nave discussed the scheme and its working , an wo con lidontly expect that the settlors ii the districts concerned v ill not hi found wanting Tr pub'ie spirit and rill promptly form sue!, an associa-

ion which ought to be ol very great alue to the .whole of the residents n the backblocks.