PLUNKET NURSES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10050, 26 July 1910, Page 5

PLUNKET NURSES.

DEPUTATION TO THE PKEMIER.

A deputation, representing the Society for the Promotion of the Health of Women and Children, waited on the Prime Minister and the Hon. H. Buddo yesterday, accomnanied by several members of Par-

Mr Sfdey, M.EV *s»o f »«» nea'dquartera of the society were at Dunedin, and the members present represented districts where there are Plunket nurses. The requets of the deputation was that the Government should renew a grant" of £SOO for the Karitane Home in Dunedin and of £SO for each Plunket nurse. There are at present thirteen Plunket nurses, and !ast year in the foar centres they attended an average of three hundred cases. THE PREMIER'S REPLif.

Sir Joseph Ward, said, speaking generally, the Government was favourable to what had been carried out, both by the Karitane Home and the Plunket nurses, but in regard to the request for a grant for the Karitane Home the Government wanted to be sure that such applications would be limited to one, betfaule a little while ago he was given to understand that a proposal was being made to establish a similar institution in other centres. The Government was not favourable to repeating the vote of last year for the assistance of similar institutions that might be established in various parts of the country. If that was asked for it would obviously mean doing away with the one institution and carrying out the training in one Government institution. They were all anxious to do what they could to help to bring about an improvement or the conditions under which women had suffered for a considerable time, and he should think that as a result there ought to be an improvement in the birth-rate. They were working to bring about an improvement in the conditions of things general, v, and the Government was anxious to CG-*operate with them in a j reasonable way.