The Rotunda, Dublin

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume I, Issue 3, 1 July 1908, Page 64

The Rotunda, Dublin

FLORENCE P. EDWARDS

BYJ t

How very strange it seems to find oneself stranded m baby-land 14,000 miles from home ! We arrived at the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, an English nurse friend and myself, one dark wintry night, and felt thankful to know that our long journey was at an end. In the distance we hear the little voices that sound like so many little lambs bleating, also the soft croon of some happy Irish mother as she nestles her little one. After partaking of supper a message came from the lady superintendent to say that she wished to see us, and after a pleasant interview with her we retired, and with a good nights rest felt ready for work on the morrow. Next morning we were taken to the Gynecological wards, w T here every nurse who enters the Rotunda to take a six months' course of training, even if she has received previous training, is expected to spend a month. These wards are apart from the others and are comparatively new. The Gynecological, or Plunket Cairns wing, contains two large wards, an operating theatre with attachments, also a separate surgery, side rooms and rooms for the nurses. Any nurse wishing to take up a course of this special branch of nursing must first obtain her midwifery certificate, or else produce a certificate for general medical and surgical nursing. We soon found that we had plenty of work ahead of us m these wards. The patients evidently appear to take it for granted that we are untrained. I overheard one patient saying to another "o'ch sure, her face is Oirish but her brogue is not, perhaps the poor dear came from the prairies." She then looked at me with a pitying glance and said, "did you leave your poor mother ?" The month soon passed. We then found our way to baby-land. Such wonderful old maternity wards they are, opening out of massive stone corridors, yet how cheerful they look inside: Each ward contains twelve beds, each nurse has four mothers and their babies placed under her care. Here the patent feeding bottle, with its colonies of bacilli, is practically unknown, for mothers

are compelled (except under special circumstances) to feed their babies with the food which nature has so bountifully provided for them. The benefactors coat of arms is placed at the head of each bed, highly polished floors, marble washstands with hot and cold water laid on, are placed at the end of the wards. A bright-looking fireplace, old oak stools each side of the fireplace dark with age, recalls the fact that these have been used for over 100 years. What tales they could tell of old time nurses and their methods if only they could speak. Although the wards are old they have been brought thoroughly up to date, and every fortnight they are thoroughly cleansed, walls, ceilings, floors, etc., and formalined. There is a sister m charge of each corridor, a corridor consisting of five wards. The maternity division is divided into two corridors. A night superintendent looks after the institution at night. There are special rooms for " the deliveries/ also waiting rooms, observation rooms and ward kitchens, etc. One ward contains the baby incubator, such a warm nest for some tiny baby. With the usual curiosity peculiar to women we peeped m and could not help noticing how much the little one wrapped up m its woolly jacket seemed to be enjoying the warmth, we quite envied the nurse who was m charge of the incubator and its occupant. There is a chapel on the lower corridor for the use of the staff, outsiders may attend if they wish to do so. The inside of the chapel was designed by an Italian. The ceiling is quite a work of art, designed with cherubs and angels entwined with ribbons and suitable texts, painted on m gold lettering. The organ and choir are placed m the gallery. A large stone font stands near the entrance door, and a beautiful stained glass window is placed m the east end. The nurses attend the services m their indoor uniform unless the weather is too cold. The out patient rooms are three m number. The dispensary, nurses dining hall, and sitting rooms are situated^on the^ground floor. The large kitchen is m the casement.

As regards the daily routine. The day nurses go on duty at 7 a.m., and come off at 10 p.m. Three hours off duty are allowed daily, either from 2 p.m. till 5 p.m., or from 5 p.m. till 8 p.m., one hour to be devoted to study, the other two for recreation. A week's holiday is given at the end of three months. If for any reason a nurse should be off duty for longer than a fortnight during her six months period of training, she is not eligible to enter for the examination, but has to wait till the next one. The fees are £26 for a six months course of training m midwifery ; £10 for a six months course of training m gynecological nursing. The first instalment, half fee, is paid on entering the institution, the secondf at the end of three months if the nurse is considered suitable to finish her course. Lectures are given every morning by the master or senior surgeon, to the students and nurses. Towards the end of the lecture each bed is visited m turn, thus by a practical clinic the nurses are instructed m the different stages of labour, the complications which may arise before and after delivery, and the care of the newly born infant. Part of the nurses training is devoted to the study of infant feeding. Special stress is laid on the mother nursing the child, but where she is unable to suckle, the nurse is shown how to prepare the various artificial diets suitable for infant feeding. Among the various diets demonstrated for the feeding of infants are various modifications of the preparation of ordinary cows milk, the preparation of humanised milk, also chicken broth, raw beef juice, etc., etc. The outside cases are attended by the students, who are divided into a day and night group. If there should be a great deal of work the nurses are also employed m attending the cases outside. They very often walk long distances accompanied by a small ragged urchin, who is sent to act as a guide, and sometimes he owns a dog, of which he is very proud. On entering the slums for the first time, walking up dark staircases, which necessitate one feeling one's way by a rickety bannister, one begins to realise what poverty means, but the gratitude of the patient rewards the inconvenience and trouble which one may have experienced m getting there. One cannot help observing the seamy side of life m the slums. The dwellers there, poor creatures, know only too well what the pangs of hunger mean. On inquiring we find that the

bread winner has been out of work fur the past six months, most of the furniture is m the pawn shop waiting to be redeemed, and probably what little money there has been m the house has been wasted m drink. The patients are often lying on sacks, thankful even for that and the shelter the roof gives. Fire is a luxury. The humorous, as well as the pathetic side, is seen at every turn. The time my friend and and I visited a case, we hunted high and low for something to bath the new arrival m. My friend suggested the kettle, as being the only utensil m the room. After thinking it over we decided that it would be an utter impossibility, as the infant was far too big to get m. We then called the urchin who had showed us the way to the house and asked him to borrow something from the neighbour to bath the baby m. He returned m great glee m about five minutes with a frying pan ; this turned out to be the only available article that they possessed among several families. After seeing that the mother was all right and had been made comfortable we wended our way back to the Rotunda, leaving a neighbourhood which caused us for the first time to realise w r hat poverty meant. The Rotunda Hospital owes its existence to the benevolent exertions of one individual, Dr. Bartholomew Mosse. Dr. Mosse m 1745, at his own personal cost, purchased the ground forming the Rotunda gardens, and on this site the present hospital was erected. On June 4th, 1757, the first stone was laid with much pomp and ceremony. On the purchase of this ground and the erection of this building Dr. Mosse exhausted his entire fortune and died m poverty m 1759. The certificates, both for midwifery and gynecological work, issued by this hospital are highly prized m the medical world. One cannot be associated with this institution, and note the care and close attention to the veriest detail without feeling how richly deserved is the reputation which the Rotunda has achieved as a successful maternity hospital. To-day, nurses from almost every part of the civilised world enter its wards to receive a training which must be of great benefit to humanity m the care of the mother and the preservation of infant life. This is a question of the greatest importance to New Zealand at the present day.