NURSES & TRANSPORTS?

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2534, 7 August 1915, Page 6

NURSES & TRANSPORTS?

THE MENINGITIS MENACE

NO CAUSE FOR ALARM

CARE OF RETURNING WOUNDED

A' request that nurses should be sent away from Nan- Zealand in troopships in order that they might caro for any men who fall sick was made to tho Defence Minister (tlio Hon. J, Allen) yesterday by a deputation of ladiesAirs. Luke, Mrs. Moorhouse, and Mrs. Gibbons. Their suggestion was that if sufficient trained nurses could not bo spared, women trained in the St. John Ambulanco. course should.be allowed to go under the control of a smaller number of trained nurses. One of tlie reasons urged was that in the event of an outbreak of meningitis occurring, tlio assistance of trained nurses might bo urgently needed. There was a feeling among the mothers of young men that orderlies were _ not sufficiently trained for work of this kind. Difficulties in the Way. Mr. Allen said lie admitted quite readily the_ very valuable work done by nurses at Trentham, Camp, and for our wounded soldiers, and he also admitted that nurses might render excellent services on. our troopships if it- wero found convenient to send them. But we had already sent away Eome 20,000 men without nurses, raid lie challenged anybody to say that thero had been any disastrous results. If experienco hail been such as to prove that precautions taken in the past had been inadequate ho' would have felt bound to make a change. Thero was another difficulty in the way of sending away large numbers of nurses, a difficulty already raised by the hospital authorities—the danger of depleting New- Zealand of trained nurses. We had already got back hero a considerable number of sick and wounded men, and by every lot of returning transports another draft of wounded men would return. These men would have to bo cared for by competent nurses, and if we depleted our available supply of such women we should not be doing our duty by these returning men. lie did, however, proposo to send nurses on one of every lot of troopships, but these nurses would go, not to look after the soldiers going in the front, but .to . care for tho wounded and sick who would be returning every voyage. As for tho men going away, he felt satisfied that the medical officers and *ho orderlies were quite able to deal with them, ,I'ho men were all medically examined, tested in the camps, and made as idiysically fit as possible, and no Serious ■ outbreak of disease was to be expected' on any of these ships. It waS possible that the nurses going with the troopships • might not be tho nurses who would: return on the next voyage. It was possible that thoy might lelieve other nurses feeling the strain Of over-work in the Egyptian climate. \Ye had sent away over 170 trained nurses, and somo other nurses had gone Home and enlisted in the British Army Nursing Servico. Altogether about 200 nurses must have gone _ from New Zealand, a very big contribution lrom a little country of a million inhabitants. Also his advice from Egypt was that there were enough nurses at the front for requirements. No Danger of Meningitis. "I don't want you to go away with the idea _ that we intend to have . any meningitis on any of these transports," said Mr. Allen. Mrs. Gibbons: Can you prevent itp Mr. . Allen: I think wo can. You don't know the extraordinary caro we are taking in regard to meningitis. I have had reports from -men who know, who have seen the treatment of meningitis elsewhere, and they say that there is nothing like tho caro taken in other camps about meningitis. AVhy, even men with' sore throats are being put in hospital as suspects, and the men who get ill when they go home on leave aro being put ill hospital and 1 watched. I think it will be'found that theso men now suspects aro not meningitis cases at all. The Dannevirke caso certainly is not, and I don't think any of the Dunedm cases will turn out to bo meningitis. . With regard to the troopships, every mail who goes away will be medically examined, and more than once ; to make sure'that there is no possibility of meningitis freaking out among tiiem. If it breaks out wo must do the best we can under the circumstances. Tho' treatment. is - certainly more nursing and caro than anything else, but we hope that as nurses will ho on one ship the meningitis cases will be segregated on their ship. Mrs. Gibbons suggested that the nurses might be distributed l among the troopships. ■ . Mr. Allen said that perhaps this might be done. He would consider the suggestion. .At the same time, be added, he wanted all tho available space on t'he ships to avoid overcrowding the men. Judgment on Trentham, Mrs. Gibbons said that tho recent deaths at Trentham hadl shaken mothers very much and made them unwilling to allow 1 their sons to go into camp. ■Mr. Allen: Tho recent deaths at Trentham may possibly have shaken tlie mothers, but' might I ask you to_ suspend judgment on Trentham, or to judge it by what it "is, and by what has happened in other camps in tlie world ?_ I don't know a camp where meningitis has not broken out. It has broken out in Australia and in England. And might I say to you that you can do a great deal more good by creating confidence among the people than by creating fear and terror, which • may, and, indeed, does, engender a great deal of Mrs. Luke, in thanking Mr. Allen for receiving tlio deputation, said that there was nothing wrong witn Trentham. CEREBROSPINAL MENINGITIS —9 DEATH AT DANNEVIRKE. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Dannevirke, August 6. Pte. Robinson, of Gisbornc, who was taken from the express train on Tuesday last, while en route t.o his homo from Waikanae Camp, and found to bo suffering from cercbro-spinal meningitis, died at Dannevirke Hospital last night. BUSINESS MAN SOLILOQUISING. "Yes," soliloquised tho business man, "I often think of those who aro no longer in the running. Business to-day is keen, the fight is hard, tho strain tells. For myself, I should never have kept my place ill the race if it had not been for Wilson's Malt Extract. It las been a real prop to me, keeping my digestion good, and supplying strength and energy. I take a bottlo whenever I feel a bit 'off colour,' and it quickly brings nio up to the mark." Wilson's Malt Extract is made from purest malted barley. Very nutritions, and invaluable to brain workers. Prepared also with cod liver oil, Chemists aud stores. Wholesale agents: D. W. Virtue and Co.—Advt. ' Attentiou is drawn to an advertisement in our Church column of the British Israel Association, which commences , ito monthly meetings oil Tuesday next at S p.m. in tlio Y.M.C.A. Rooms. The objects are to follow out tho pure History of the Bible and to define as to who wo as a British nation are, from the promises given unto "Abraham and his need," Anyone wishing to bccome « memlisei .will be wclcome, .