GREAT ACHIEVEMENT

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1055, 20 August 1930, Page 7

GREAT ACHIEVEMENT

PLUNKET SERVICE LOWERS INFANTILE MORTALITY WORK IN AUCKLAND “A'ew Zealand’s infantile mortalit; \ rate has this year reached the phenj omenaliy low figure of 3.6 per cen’ j There can be little doubt that the ir : tensive pre-natal work carried on b> ; the society and other institutions dui ing the past few years has helped materially to bring about this splend’-u achievement” Thus Airs. W. H. Parkes. president of the Auckland branch of the Plunket Society, in addressing the largely-at-tended annual meeting held in th-_ ! Lyceum Club rooms last evening. Si: j George Fowids presided. The features of the year’s work, gui-.i • Airs. Parkes, were the increasing atf tendances at the pre-natal clinic, an*. ‘ the establishment of a pre-school I clinic. The society’s activities, ir- ; volving pre-natal, post-natal, and preJ school age work, had bridged a gap j between the Plunket service and th- ! school medical officers, thus providing (continuous supervision for all period;- ! of the child's life. ! Airs. Parkes referred to the tremen dous expansion of the service of pre i natal care, and stated that expectant i mothers were becoming more appreciative of the advice given by highlyi trainc-d nurses. During the past | month there had been 60 new cases of this type. The attendances at th* j four pre-natal clinics established b; ; the society in the main centres had inj creased by leaps and bounds, she ! added. “If the Government subsidy is reI duced. as suggested in the Budget, th - i society will be compelled to curtail it> i activities in this, its most important ! development,” continued the speake; j "To hamper seriously a work of such ■ national importance is not true ' economy.” Short special courses for midwives ; and maternity nurses in the Auckland district had been arranged by the prill- • oipal Officer. Dr. W. H. Parkes the lecturers being Drs. Derrick. TracyInglis and Reid. A special tuton-sister supervised the instruction, two course? of which were held, and which were attended by 13 and 13 nurses respectively. Referring to the value of the Karitane Hospital, Airs. Parkes said that accommodation was now taxed to the utmost. Under able tuition, from 16 to 20 "Karitane nurses received inter- ! sive training in mothercraft. and alj though there had been some difficulty ; in ’the past with this section of the : work, a band of skilled nurses was now f being gradually built up. which would i equal the Plunket nurses in their enI thusiasm. TWO COLLECTIONS Discussing the finances of the sociei; . Mi's. Parkes emphasised that the cred:- : balance of £1.696 was caused by there ' being two collections in one financial ; year, through the rearrangement of th*i City Council’s street collections. Howj ever, the amount in hand would be j fully absorbed by the end of the pres- ' ent month. The excess of assets over ‘liabilities was £6,797. Mrs. Parkes ; congratulated the sub-branches, which j had undertaken to raise their quota for Plunket service in their district?-. One or two branches had also made donations toward administrative exj penses. The Elerslie and Sandring- ! ham suburbs still lacked organising | committees, which she hoped would I soon be formed. In regard to the foi- : mation of a centre in Birkenhead, which , was prepared to meet its share of the • expenses, Airs. Parkes said that on • account of the Government subsidy < not being forthcoming for another i nurse, nothing could at present b*- ! done: but it was hoped this check 1 was only temporary. People who benefited by the society contributed generously to the funds according to their means, Mrs. Parkes stated. She ; supported her assertion by referring

to the fact that in 1928-29 the boxes at ! headquarters and suburban offices contained £350 in silver coins, and this : sum was exceeded by £IOB in the pas: i year. Continuing, Airs. Parkes said that , the Dominion had held the distinction ! of having the lowest infant death ratw in the world for many years, the declfne dating from the Plunket Society's first year of existence —a record which i had been maintained almost without i break for 22 years. Airs. Parkes stated | that other countries found it easy to I reduce their death rate from a high ! figure down to 5 per cent., because the • majority of deaths were due to causes I more or less easily dealt with, but it I was more difficult to reduce the rnor- ; tality date from 3 per cent, to 4 per ! cent, and to 3 per cent., which was j regarded as the irreducible minimum • Appreciative reference was made by : the speaker to the gift of £2,000 mad*' !by the Auckland Savings Bank, by . which the society had been able to liquidate the debt on its headquarterin Synionds Street. The offer of the Rotary Club to raise £ 500 for the much required additions to headquarters was also spoken of appreciatively by Mrs. Parkes, as was also a donation of £2O by Wilson ind Horton to the endowment fund, which now stood at £557. The report and balance-sheet were adopted without discussion, and the officers were re-elected unopposed. During the evening brief addresses on aspects of the society’s work were given by Sir George Fowids, Canon Fan court, and Sister Hannah, all of whom deprecated the short-sigh ted policy of the Government in proposing to reduce the subsidy to the society’s work.