Two Nurses for Public Health job

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 262, 8 November 1988, Page 5

Two Nurses for Public Health job

Waimarino's public health nurse is now two people, with Helen Pocknall and Judith Brake sharing the job.

While Judith has worked in the role as reliever for Leigh Berry on a number of occasions in the past year, for Helen the job is quite new. She has been a nurse for more than ten years in public hospitals and more recently has been a ski patroller at Turoa Skifields and in Canada. She also worked one ski season at Turoa as the patrol nurse. Helen is a Registered General and Obstetric Nurse who trained at Wellington Hospital, qualifying in 1979. She has worked in various hospitals in the Wellington region since then. Judith is a Registered Comprehensive Nurse who was qualified at the Auckland Technical Institute in 1982. In Auckland she worked at Middlemore Hospital as a staff nurse. She moved to Waiouru in 1985 and has worked at the Waiouru Hospital Maternity Annex and at Taihape Hospital. Helen says the role of a public health nurse is very different to that of a hospital nurse. The job deals with promotion of good health and prevention of disease, while a hospital nurse

deals with the latter stages of disease and health problems. Public health nurses offer maternal, infant and pre-school health guidance and regularly visit kindergartens, child care centres and kohanga reo. They also visit primary schools, where immunization programmes are conducted, vision and hearing testing is followed up and all new entrants are assessed. They also attend to referrals from school staff or parents. The nurses can also make referrals to other agencies where appropriate, such as health camps. School visits can be followed up with home visits, especially as thcre is an increasing number of children with social and emotional problems. Their work takes them to many places where there are groups of people, for the promotion of good health. At work places they look at occupational health prcventative measures concerning the personal health of workers. Teaching people about the necessity for hearing protection at s o m e

work situations is an example of this. Public health nurses also help to deal with "at risk" groups - people that are less able to cope. They are involved in supporting and supervising the health care of the elderly and those with psychiatric illness and the physically and mcntally handicapped. "Prevention, health education and health promotion activities are the key components of the nurses' work, with emphasis on self help and the acceptance of personal responsibility i n health care," - is a short answer to what is the role of a public health nurse. Asked to point out any special health problems in the Waimarino, Helen and Judith said the social problems of the rest of the country, which are linked to health problems, are evident here. They said drug and alcohol abuse is a problem here as is the effects of high unemployment. They said they were involved in helping people deal with housing problems, especially in Ohakune. Families have had to move out of rental accommodation because of high rents and the public health nurses

can be involved i n finding altemative, cheaper accommodation. Physical and sexual abuse is present in the Waimarino, though not necessarily more than any where else in the country, they said. The job sees them dealing with the effects of a whole range of child neglect, from sending children to school with no breakfast or lunch right through to the effects of physical and sexual abuse.