ROUND TABLE ON PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, AT THE AUCKLAND HOSPITAL.

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume XXII, Issue 4, 1 November 1929, Page 190

ROUND TABLE ON PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING, AT THE AUCKLAND HOSPITAL.

Friday, 4th October, 1929, at 7.30 p.m. Miss Bagley, Assistant Inspector of Hospitals m the Chair : " I have been asked to take the chair to-night at this Round Table on Public Health Nursing, and I fully appreciate the honour. I propose to say a few words on the matter of Public Health Nursing. Public Health Nursing has for its object the establishment and maintenance of perfect citizens. The branches of Public Health Nursing are: — 1. Midwifery, which is an essential service. 2. School Nursing, which is designed to carry on the work commenced by the School Medical Service. 3. Infant Welfare Nursing. 4. District Nursing, which has a great preventive scope.

District Health Nursing should really have been first. It is the premier Public Health Service. District Nursing opened the door to all the other branches of Public Health work. Then comes Infant Welfare Nursing, which should have come before School Nursing. Infant Welfare Nursing is done m New Zealand by the Plunket nurses. Other branches which we have m New Zealand are Tuberculosis and to some little extent Venereal Disease. The latter we cannot say has been properly developed m New Zealand.

To review a little of the history of Public Health Nursing m New Zealand, I might just say that up to the time of the war, the fringe of the work had scarcely been touched. We certainly had a few district nurses. The first district work was done by Miss Maude m Christchurch. Next we had, I think, the country scheme, which was run only by the Maori Health nurses m the first instance. Before the war we had only two or three and that service has been largely developed since. As to school nurses, before the war we had none. These services have all been largely developed since the war, we have now 32 school nurses. Of Maori Health nurses, we have 17 or 18. Tuberculosis nurses, we only have three. Because tuberculosis work has not been as well developed as it deserves to be m New Zealand, the Public Health Nursing Committee which arranged the table, has devoted its first attention to the matter of tuberculosis nursing, and we have had prepared a few papers on this branch which I propose should now be read to you. After the papers have been read, the discussion will open, and f hope that you will make it quite a round table; that no one will hesitate to get up and comment on the papers, or offer some little outline or voice some comments of their own regarding any phase of Public Health Nursing."

The first paper has been written by Miss Timlin, of Dunedin. and Miss Holford has kindly consented to read it.