PRACTICAL RESULTS.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXIV, Issue 12883, 25 September 1909, Page 4

PRACTICAL RESULTS.

In and around Dunedin last year 300 babies were under the Society's supervision, and 3500 visits were paid by the nurses and co-workers. In Christchurch during the same period 318 cases were dealt with by the Plunket nurses. Of these only 57 were healthy, 121 were ailing and delicate, 65 were seriously ill and needed great care, while 15 were regarded as hopeless — of whom four died, and there, were 57 correspondents. / The nurses worked wonders in having not one death representing a failure to record. Six children died while in -the nurses' hands, four within a, day or two of their first visit, being past- all help, and two (twins), who had been doing splendidly, died in March, entirely owing to obstinate neglect on the part of the mother. All of these could have been saved but for delay in the first four cases and neglect in the last two. These six, with one last year, for whom it was also too late to do -nything, form the whole list of deaths in a total of between 450 and 500 treated during the year and ten months . which have passed since this branch of the Society began active operations. This makes a percentage of only 1.4, which is all the more remarkable when it is remembered that the very large majority' of these cases have been experimented on for weeks with patent foods, crude cows' milk, condensed milk, biscuits, and other things before coming into the nurses' hands. Not only have these children not died, but, what is much more important, they are growing up strong instead of weak members of the community. The cases are visited almost daily at first, and after that at short intervals for various lengths of time, some as long as a year. Other individual branches have done similar work with similar success, the Plunket - Nurse at Timaru having^ 118 babies under her care. The result of the work of the Societies is reflected in the vital statistics, which disclose the interesting fact that the infantile death-rate in Christchurch for 1908 was a little more than half that for 1907, while Dunedin's rate was lower than that of any of the other cities. With the spread of knowledge, for which object the Societies have been formod, the mortality amongst the babies of the Dominion should show a still further decline, until the tide of preventable infantile mortality has been stemmed. Why should .not a I Society for the Promotion of the Health of Women and Children be established in Wanganui? The local branch of the National Defence League has been instrumental in appointing a district nurse, j J whose advice and assistance will be given J in maternity cases, but the good work should not stop here. Therei is fine scope in. Wanganui and district for a branch of the Society, which could act in conjunction with the League and St. John i Ambulance Society, and we trust that Miss Fraser and the other ladies interested with her in the promotion of the health of women and children will take steps to have the operations of the So- ' ciety extended here. Lady Plunket would, ! no doubt, be pleased to accept an invitation to visit Wanganui and address a i meeting i n the interests of the Society, and the local Press would readily support I and assist any movement- in the direction indicated.