PLUNKET SYSTEM

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 179, 30 June 1937, Page 2

PLUNKET SYSTEM

DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH. ADDRESS BY MISS A. M. KEARNS. “The Development and Growth of the PI tin ket Society’s Work” was the subject of Miss A. M. Kearns, the Blanket nurse, when she addressed the annual meeting of the Palmerston North branch of the Plunket Society, yesterday. The speaker gave a most interesting review of the society’s career. .In 1889 Sir Frederick (then Dr.) Truby King, who had been in charge of the General Hospital in Wellington, was asked to accept the position of medical superintendent of the large Government Hospital for mental diseases at Seacliff, and was appointed lecturer on mental diseases at the Dunedin University, as ivell as examiner in public health, said Miss Kearns. Many people had an erroneous impression that the work of the Plunket Society, in the early stages of its inception in 1907, was in the nature of an experiment, but this was not so, as for some years the founder, Sir Truby King, had been carrying out extensive experiments and research work in the growth and development of plants and animals, and had proved beyond doubt that for perfect development and freedom from disease the natural laws of health must bo applied. In 1905 Sir Truby King’s attention became focussed on the harm being done by the almost universal practice of the artificial feeding of infants, the ignorance and carelessness of parents in regard to this matter leading to a very high death rate among the babies, and also to the appalling and preventable wastage of human life directly traceable to faulty nutrition in infancy. The immediate necessity, therefore, was the saving of infant lives. With the help of his devoted wife, Sir Truby King took in hand the babies of the Seacliff village, and then of Dunedin, having as ail assistant Nurse McKinnon, who later became the first Plunket nurse. At first it had not been mtenued to open a home for babies, but several bad cases had been discovered in licensed homes and,, the matter being one of urgency. Sir Truby King obtained permission to remove them to his own seaside residence on the Karitane peninsula, proceeded Miss Kearns. The necessity for such a homo was realised and a suitable borne with well-planted grounds was chosen at Anderson’s Bay, one of the sunniest spots in Dunedin suburbs. This was the first dietetic hospital for infants in the Dominion, and it also became the training school for Plunket and Karitanc nurses and was called the Karitane Hospital. In 1910 Mr Wolf Harris presented this property to the society. The original building, now very old, still formed the main hospital" block of the Dominion training centre for Plunket nurses and at the present time there was a campaign being held in Dunedin for funds to build a new hospital. THE WORK SPREADS.

From the beginning, Miss Kearns continued, the work had grown and spread throughout the world and the teaching of the Truby King system of mothercraft had been formed in Australia, Tasmania, England, Canada, South Africa and Palestine. Some few years after its inception, King George V conferred the honour of “Royal” on the New Zealand Society. During 1917, Sir Truby King, the director of child welfare in New Zealand, was granted leave of absence to proceed to England in answer to a request to establish the work of mothercraft he had successfully launched in this country. The first mothercraft training centre was at Trebovir Road, but it bad grown with such rapidity that to-day it was centred at Cromwell House, known as the Mothercraft Training Centre. This centre also had many branches. In Canada the centre was at Toronto and it was there Miss F’itzgibbon. nursing adviser to. the council, travelled last year to stage an exhibit of the society’s work. A request had been received to send a New Zealand-trained Plunket nurse to start the work in Canada, and for two to proceed to South Africa for the same purpose. Misses Mitchell and Bowron, at that time in England on holiday, had accepted the duty, Miss Mitchell being matron, a position she held until March of this year, when she resigned to be married. Miss Bowron stayed for a year or two and then returned to New Zealand, when Miss Fanning. another New Zealand-trained Plunket nurse, took over. In South Africa the nurses were called Athlone (after Countess Athlone) and Good Hope nurses. This centre liad a very fine home, known as the Lady Buxton Mothercraft Home. In Palestine a fine building had been erected for the work to be carried on and the Indies of the Zionist Union in New Zealand each year had an. effort to raise funds. In appreciation of the help received for the teaching by Sir Truby King, be had been asked to sign his name in the Golden Book, the highest honour to be bestowed, equivalent to the roll of honour. In Australia there was the Karitane Sydney Hospital, also central visiting rooms in Sydney, Footscray Hospital in Melbourne, a new centre in Adelaide, together with centres in Perth, Queensland, in Hobart and Launceston. All the centres were in charge of Australian-trained nurses who came to New Zealand to receive their Plunket training and who were engaged in the work for some time before returning to their own lands to carry out the teaching and principles of the work. Besides these centres, there were scattered in other countries many New Zealand-trained Plunket nurses carrying out the work in mission fields, hospitals, and district work. It was indeed a great tribute to Sir Truby King’s work and teachings to realise they were so ivorldwide.

To-day in New Zealand, there were six Karitane hospitals, Dunedin being the only centre for Plunket training, the other Truby King hospitals boing for Karitane nurses only. There were 126 Plunket nurses, and in most town there wore branches, so that New Zealand was well served by the work of tlio society. In conclusion, Aiiss Kearns defined the work of the Plunket nurses ti I '”' the headings pre-natal, post-natal, and pre-school age, and stated that iiie children brought up strictly with the teachings of the society Avoukl stand the test of time. Aiiss Kearns also added that while the Plunket nurses attended the professional side of the work,'., the committee had charge of the business side, and co-operation between the two was essential for success.

On the motion of Aiiss AlcLagan, the speaker was accorded a voto of thanks for her splendid address.