PLUNKET SOCIETY WORK

Taranaki Daily News, 2 May 1933, Page 11

PLUNKET SOCIETY WORK

5 GREAT SOCIAL SERVICE NEW PLYMOUTH BRANCH MEETS YEAR’S SATISFACTORY PROGRESS. j An evidence of the interest and sym« pathy with the New Plymouth brand ;? of the Plunket Society, or the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of ® Women and Children was the large at- !’ tendance at the annual meeting at tht ’* Plunket rooms yesterday. In spite of the persistent rain there was an attendance of over 30. The Mayor (Mr. H. V. S. “ Griffiths) was in the chair and at the n - table with him was Mrs. W. C. Weston n (retiring president). 1 The committee in its. report recorded 6 the death in July of Mrs. Home, an ’• ex-president and a patroness of the so--1 ciety, and the death in September of Mrs. r R. E. Fairfax Cholmeley, a patroness of 1 the society and for many years one of i its active workers. The year had been - difficult, funds having been curtailed and s demands increased. Success had been ■> achieved mainly through the enthusiasm of the members of the society, the nurses 1 and the sub-branches. The committee i made no attempt to expand activities but - nevertheless figures had increased. Over I 100 more visitors attended the rooms for s advice, showing a daily total of 48 and . an annual total of 12,512. ' A total of 1060 • babies were under the care of the nurses, an increase of 57 over last year’s figI ures. That proved that parents had t growing confidence in practical methods. I When first the Plunket Society was formed 88 out of every 1000 babies bom in I New Zealand died in the first twelve ; months of life; the figure to-day was a j fraction over 30. > There was continued support for the i ante-natal clinic, Thursday morning bej ing devoted to the work. Every facility and encouragement was afforded expec- . tant mothers to consult the Plunket I nurses. Advice for babies under two \ years occupied the greater part of ’ the . nurses’ time. PREVALENCE OF DISTRESS. The distress so prevalent made the work of the society all the more necessary. The Relief Association assisted the society by giving materials for making garments. The stock of clothes was greatly increased by a drive organised by the association. Friends had assisted with gifts which had been distributed where the need was greatest. The sub-branches at Waitara, Inglewood and Urenui raised their quota to carry on the work in their districts. The Fitzroy Methodist officials and the Moturoa Anglican officials had given free use of their churches. After three months’ sick leave Nurse Petersen, charge nurse, resumed her duties in July. Nurses Cartwright and Chandler filled the position of second and third nurse* respectively and though their responsibility were greatly increased during Nurse Petersen’s absence, the work was carried through to the satisfaction of members and with much credit. Nurse Chandler resigned and left on April 26. Nurse Poff, Christchurch, was on the staff as relieving nurse for a period of four months and Miss Coombs at short intervals in April and January. During the year three babies were nursed at the Stewart Karitane Hospital, ■ Wanganui. Mesdames Walter Weston, A. J. Tunbridge, C. S. Mayer, W. Middleton (Waitara) and E. H. Braybrooke (Inglewood), attended ’ the provincial conference held at Wanganui in October. The election of three members to the New Zealand Council resulted in Mesdames A. G. Crawford (Wanganui), Weston and R. Masters (Stratford) being elected. Baby Day appeal resulted in the raising of £358 12s sd. A manneq’uiri playreading brought in £32 6s, and other activities were a dance convened by the produce stallholders, an old clothes sale, a lecture by Miss Dora West, M.8.E., and a play-reading by members of the Victoria League. A flower stall was conducted by the Victoria League under the leadership of Mrs. A. C. Collins. The country districts’ response to the appeal was liberal and each year the work was extending further afield. The better baby club box system brought in £32 17s 7d and an afternoon for the return of the boxes was arranged by commit- (' tee members and nurses. BUILDING FUND DEPOSIT. There was a credit balance of cash in bank and in hand amounting to £4OB 7s lid. As the result of the decision of the committee two-, bonds were bought in September. This £2OO formed the nucleus of a building fund called the “Truby King Plunket House Building Fund.” In November £2OO was placed on fixed deposit. Those transactions reduced the working finances of the society but would increase the capital later. The rent from the women’s rest room had been reduced 20 per cent. A deci-

sion to set aside for the building fund the mojiey left by the late Mr. P. J. Flannagan, an annuity of £5O for 21 years, had been made by the society. The resolution was- unanimously supported by committee members, it being felt that by this means the society’s first substantial legacy would be for all time remembered and the giver honoured. The trustees of the New Plymouth Savings Bank donated £5O. Early in June the branch had a short visit from Miss Pattrick, Director of Plan- . ket Nursing. Miss Pattrick spoke highly of the work of the branch and the nurses. The Mayor, in moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, mentioned the good work done by Mrs. Weston as president. He was sorry to hear that Mrs. Weston wished to be relieved of her position. It was a tribute to Mrs. Weston’s work that she had been elected a member of the Dominion council. Mr. Griffiths referred to unemployment’ which, he said, placed an additional burden on nurses who were working so hard. He had had occasion to.comment last year on the infantile mortality figures for New Zealand, which were the lowest in the world, and to some extent to criticise New Plymouth’s part in those figures. Since then the figures from the Government Statistician had come to hand and he had noted an excellent improvement. The work of the sub-branches had been a very valuable extension of the society’s work, said Mr. Griffiths. He congratulated the society on its excellent financial situation, which could not be sounder. Mrs. Weston, in seconding the motion, paid a tribute to Mrs. Mayer’s work as secretary. To show such an increase in the baby day collection in slump times was no small feat In addition Mrs. Mayer’s many duties had been done efficiently and promptly and her reports were always comprehensive and concise. No reference to the sub-branches would be complete without mention of the work of Mrs. Wills at Waitara and Nurse Morgan at Inglewood in watching the interests of the society and making the visits of the nurses as little tiring as possible. The . advisory board was called on perhaps more than previously, for there were many small financial and ' law difficulties during the year. The Mayor was to' be congratulated on 1 his excellent work for the relief of distress. Relief work was forming part of the society’s activities, but the Plunket ; activities had to come first. As it was i the nurses often devoted their lunch hour and time in the evening to relief. i Headquarters had decreed that no charge must be made for Plunket services and Mrs. Weston was of a simi- ' lar opinion. Otherwise, she concluded, they would find situations such- as ob-1!

tained 15 years ago, when cases were often found which were far too late to remedy. Mr. • R. J. Deare congratulated Mrs. Mayer on as fine a report as he had ever heard. Mr. Deare detailed some of the avenues of hospital expenditure, stating that every £lOO capital expenditure meant £2O in maintenance. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. Other reports were read and received as follows:— NURSES’ REPORT. New Plymouth and sub-branches: Of 293 new babies dealt with there were 10 premature babies and 75 suffering from indigestion or malnutrition at various stages. Mesdames Feek and Vincent cared for babies whose mothers were temporarily ill. In New Plymouth and out-stations 1060 babies were handled during the year. The work in Waitara progressed satisfactorily. One special case of malnutrition, which seemed to be hopeless, responded to the nurses’ care. There were more naturally fed babies at Inglewood. Although babies thrived with correct care on artificial food no artificial food could come up to the standard of natural food. Urenui rooms were still a benefit to the surrounding districts and mothers as far north as Awakino sought advice. There were too many visits to pay in one day in the coastal district between New Plymouth and Okato and some visits had to be left out. Mrs. Wells, Waitara, and Nurse Morgan, Inglewood, were to be thanked for their hospitality. A summary of the work for the year ended March 31 was:—Number of babies on list under two years in March, 1932, 479 (March, 1933, 463); number of new babies for the year, breast-fed 211, complemented 46, artificially fed 36, total 293; visits paid to homes, 3251; visitors to rooms, adults 5590, babies 4350, older children 1383, advice on domestic hygiene 1093; number of expectant mothers advised, 96; older children (pre-school age), under supervision, 1932, 320 (1933, 276); visits to Waitara 50, babies 107; visits to Inglewood, 51, babies, 136; visits to Urenui, 25, babies, 45; number of babies dealt with in New Plymouth, 722; in out-stations, 288; total, 1060. Urenui sub-branch: Membership had increased and the number of mothers and babies visiting the rooms had grown steadily. The finances were satisfactory, there being a credit of £23 3s Id. Many social functions were held with fair success. The Better Baby Club had not been so successful, but it was hoped every mother would take a money box. Thanks were extended to the officials of the Presbyterian Church for the use of.

U o the porch as a Plunket room and to the - Urenui Bowling Club for the use of the e pavilion. s The Inglewood and Waitara sub-branch o reports, which have already been puby lished, were also presented. il Officers elected were:—Patons, Mesd dames H. V. S. Griffiths, C. H. Burgess, t. R. Cock, W. Brodie and W. C. Weston; i, vice-presidents, Mesdames T. Wilson, C. r E. Roebuck, Franklin White, W. R. Wade, E. Shaw and J. H. Boon; secretary and r treasurer, Messrs C. S. Mayer; commits tee, Mesdames I. M. Kidd, A. J. Tun- !, bridge, W. B. Hosking, H. P. Gray, T. H. v Bates, W. J. Ewart, J. M. Warnock, L. - Curtis, Alex Strang and G. W. HaughI; ton; sub-branch delegates, Mesdames H. o J. Wells and W. Middleton (Waitara), E. r H. Braybrooke and H. Winter (Ingle- - wood) and'C. D. Smith and G. N. Fuller s (Urenui); advisory board, Drs. W. R. 1 Wade, D. Blackley and G. H. Thomson, (, and Messrs W. C. Weston, Gordon Fraser ; and A. McHardy; .solicitor, Mr. J. C. s Nicholson; auditor, Mr, J. S. S. Medley; s architect, Mr. T. H. Bates. i New members elected were: Mesdames G. Loveridge, G. Rich, J. M. Clarke, D. 1 E. Brown, F. S. Grayling, D. Saxton, s A. Diprose, J. Power and R. Lealand. i Various speakers express complete satt isfaction with the work of the society. r Members of the advisory board present . were Messrs W. C. Weston and A. Mct Hardy. The meeting concluded with af--1 temoon tea provided by the committee. The new president to replace Mrs. W. f C. Weston will be elected at the first f {meeting of the committee next Monday.