H.—3l

8

headquarters are at Tauranga. Nurse Mataira, who was in this district, was given six months' leave of absence to undergo her midwifery training at St. Helens, Auckland. A great deal of the work of the Native Health nurses,»besides many other nurses temporarily engaged, was during the last year in nursing of smallpox cases in the camp hospitals, in enforcing quarantine in the affected districts, and vaccinating the Natives. As it is recognized that the work of these nurses in preventing the spread of infection, and by constant example and teaching, leading the Natives to live in a sanitary condition, is having a direct effect in reducing the need for hospital treatment, the Hospital Boards should feel it their duty to do more than some are at present doing to make the conditions of life comfortable for the nurses. Everywhere a nurse is stationed she should lie provided with comfortable quarters, other than a room in a hotel or boardinghouse, so that she can have some of the comforts of home, and also so that the Natives may freely come to see and consult her. She should also be provided with the means of getting about, and with means of communication. The Department provides a telephone, which is of great service. Plunket Nurses. Several new branches have been formed since the last report. There are now twenty-seven nurses at work, the new districts being Westport, Taihape, Hawera, Gisborne, Dannevirke, and Nelson. One nurse in a country district writes that great difficulty in keeping in touch with the mothers who have sought advice for the babies is the very busy lives they lead. In the dairyfarming districts, beside doing housework and looking after the children, they have to milk night and morning. Ihey are up at 4 a.m. and late to bed, working so hard that the milk-supply fails. The baby has to be weaned, for the mother must go to the niilking-sheds. and can nurse but irregularly. So it is put on patent foods, with abundance of fresh milk at hand. A printed form of report lias been issued by the Department, and from those so far received a great deal of diversity in the amount id' work in the various districts is apparent. The Department is of opinion that in these smaller country towns, where the time of these nurses is not fully occupied, the nurses might undertake a certain amount of district nursingwork; but this extension of the sphere of the Plunket nurses' duties is not in accordance with the ideas of the several committees of the Society for the Health of Women and Children, which is to be regretted. Tuberculosis Dispensary Nurse*. The work of tuberculosis nursing as a special branch has not so far been taken up by very mnny young women. At the North Canterbury Sanatorium a special course of training is being given, and trained nurses and others encouraged to take up the work of nursing consumptives as a speciality. For the Te Waikato Sanatorium it is hoped to have a permanent staff, and four nurses trained in tuberculosis nursing are being sent from Home. The probationers will be instructed in the theory and practice of tuberculosis nursing, and in time, if they remain long enough, will be promoted to charge positions. The dispensary established under the North Canterbury Hospital Board in Christchurch has now two nurses, the Sister in charge and an assistant, who manage the dispensary, visit the patients in their homes, advise them as to their living-conditions, and generally help them to attain favourable conditions. They also look out for incipient cases among the contacts with the patients they visit, and so bring them also under treatment. The patients are instructed how to prevent the spread of infection, and in cases when the patient leaves the house the Health authorities are informed so that proper disinfection can be carried out. This is a branch of work which in the future will probably appeal to many more nurses than at present, and will be on a par with other special nursing-work, such as midwifery and massage. Nein Zealand Army Nursing Reserve. Steps are l>eing taken to form a reserve of nurses attached to the Defence Department, and to l>e called upon for duty when required. The head of the nursing division of the Public Health Department has lieen appointed Matron-in-Chief. The four Matrons of the chief hospitals are to be Matrons of districts in Wellington. Auckland. Canterbury, Otago, and to enroll a number of Sisters and nurses. Regulations have been drawn up, and it is expected that shortly the corps will be complete. Massage. A Bill has been prepared for the registration of masseurs, which it is hoped to bring down during the session. The curriculum of training was drawn up by the Council of the University of Otago, in conjunction with the Inspector-General. The course is not to be a University one, with the exception of the necessary instruction in anatomy and physiology, in which for masseurs a more thorough knowledge is needed than for nursing in general. The practical work is to be carried out at the various larger hospitals and the Rotorua Sanatorium. An examination both theoretical and practical is to be arranged by the Department, and successful candidates registered on the same basis as nurses and midwives. Provision is made for registration of masseurs trained outside New Zealand, and also for those who have been in practice for some years before the Act comes into ferce. The first course has already started, and when the Bill becomes law there will be a number of trained masseurs and masseuses ready for regist ration.