Native Health Nurses.

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume VI, Issue 2, 1 April 1913, Page 73

Native Health Nurses.

During the last months of the summer there has been plenty of work for the nurses engaged among the Maoris. There have been several outbreaks of enteric fever, an especially severe one at Te Ahu Ahu, near Ohaewai North of Auckland. Prior to that was one at Paeroa. Miss Bagley went there with Nurse Gill who has previously helped m this kind of work, and established a temporary tent hospital for those patients who were too ill to be sent to the Waihi hospital. These were two, a boy and a girl. The first died, but the latter after a very great struggle recovered. Nurse Gill was left m charge and had help from Nurse Manning who is a Church of England Mission Nurse. Shortly after this, the attack at Ohaewaf occurred, and Miss Bagley again set off taking with her Nurse Stephenson and some equipment and was afterwards joined by Nurse Gill, bringing with her her camp from Paeroa. Nurse Cairns later came on the staff. We hope m another issue to have an account of the camps where an extempore hospital for ten patients was established. Nurse Cormack Avrites from Te Karaka, of her district which was such a hotbed of enteric last year, " so far this year there has been very little fever amongst the Maoris. Even Murawai can't rake up a Maori patient though there has been one European from there. You would hardly recognise the place ! They are putting up decent houses, m fact, some are quite elaborate." She had ridden 50 miles to Tolaga to nurse a Maori with enteric, but he had been ill a month and died after a week of strenuous nursing. Nurse Cormack has her own horse, and we hope to publish her picture on him later. Nurse Tait writes from Te Araroa : ' 'Personally I think this back- block nursing a splendid organisation, and most helpful to the folks living so far from medical help. Were I to address an assembly of nurses, I would encourage them to take it up, even if only for a year or so, then they could return

to the hospitals and brush up their nursing, if so desirous. The work so far here, has not been strenuous, yet the position the nurse is placed m, to act as doctor, to diagnose, treat, prescribe and dispense, makes one sharpen every faculty to do the very best possible. Here is a life as it were, dependdent to a great extent, upon you, to do all that is within your medical knowledge and power, to give relief. 1 like the work and read more medical books now than ever before, mmy nursing career. It makes one grasp the use of drugs, and to learn which drugs (though many are advocated by the pharmacopoeia) are best." It must be remembered that this nurse is so situated that it is almost, and, indeed, sometimes quite, an impossibility to get medical advice, except by telephone. The nearest doctor is 50 miles away and sometimes the river is uncrossable. She has found one great difficulty to contend with m the Tohungas who are still m existence among the Maoris, After working very hard with a man suffering from double pneumonia and practically pulling him through , when the nurses went on the seventh day they found him dying while on the night before he had been doing well. Accidentally Nurse Tait heard two weeks later that the Tohunga had ordered him to be dipped m the creek ! This was one instance, and on it and one other even worse, it is hoped to get the Tohunga imprisoned. Nurse Beetham writes m her annual report to the Hospital Board : li A most detrimental custom, common enough amongst these people, is that of parting with their children, as the result of the adoption of infants and children by relatives and friends. It matters not how greatly a mother may be attached to her child, it lias been previously promised to some relatives, therefore it must go. I was much agitated by a similar case recently. The child was well cared for and thriving. Some time had elapsed when I was asked to visit the child, as it was sick. Upon in-

quiries, I found it had been adopted by a relative, taken from its natural food, and placed on indigestible artificial food m the warmest weather. The result was serious I visited the child and gave instructions as to diet, etc., which were carried out with good results. A rangitira and myself had an interview with the people regarding this objectionable custom, and tried to prevail upon them to return the child, but we failed to gain our point. Undoubtedly this custom is one cause of the unhealthiness and mortality amongst the people. At the best, the dieting of infants is grossly neglected, but this adoption custom increases it considerably. One frequently sees the ill results of this custom."

The work has increased so much m this district that Nurse Beetham asks for a Maori probationer to assist her.

Nurse Lewis has been away from Otaki for a month's leave. In her annual report she remarks on the great difficulty of getting about the district, and the great increase of work since she went there. She attends a few

Pakeha patients, but finds she cannot spare much time from her main work. She has a room m which the patients can see her and come to have small dressings done and get their medicine.

Nurse Blackie m the Canterbury district, is now stationed m Christchurch, and visits the different pahs from there.

Nurse Lily Dawson from Australia, who has been on the staff of the Timaru hospital, for some time, has been appointed Native Health Nurse for the Thames District. The Board is giving her a cottage m the hospital grounds, and she will have head-quarters there.

A nurse is needed for the New Plymouth district, and it is to be hoped that a suitable one will soon be found.

Nurse Moore has been sent on temporary duty to the Waiapu district where Nurse McElligott has been working for the last three years. Nurse McElligott unfortunately was a victim to typhoid fever but is now convalescent.