ninety years of service - University Hospital Southampton NHS ...

enrolled for one year. At this time it was again suggested that some formal training should be given to the probationers;Dr Gillespie agreed to give lectures and arrangements were also made for the nurses to attend the Royal South HantsHospital.In 1929 the nursing staff had increased to two sisters and two staff nurses. However matron would still go along to the‘village’ to do the shopping. Miss Tomkinson resigned from the post of matron after nineteen years service in 1928 andwas replaced by Miss L. Sellers who had been Assistant Matron at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh. Shein her turn, served for seventeen years before having to retire on account of ill health. Miss Sellers was succeeded byMiss Golay from Great Ormond Street in 1944.During World War II the nursing staff consisted of matron, 4 sisters and 10-12 nurses but they were often short staffed.The normal working hours were from 7.30 a.m. - 9 p.m. with 2 or 3 hours off and one day off per week. Night duty wasfrom 9 p.m. - 8 a.m. with one late night per week starting at 10 p.m. The night nurses did 4-6 weeks duty running withouta night off. They were paid about £40 - £50 p.a. and discipline was strict.By the end of 1948 the number of nursing staff had increased to 56 including 6 sisters, 30 students and 11 P.T.S. Thenumber continued to increase quite quickly to reach 91 in 1950. Thereafter there was much concern over decliningnumbers (down to 71 in 1954). Over the following ten years numbers again remained fairly steady but the proportion ofstudents gradually dropped following the closure of the Training school.Nurse TrainingA training school for Sick Children’s nurses was established in the thirties, being officially recognised in 1936, but it had tobe suspended at the outbreak of hostilities, reopening again in 1944 when Miss Morgan from Great Ormond Street wasappointed Sister Tutor The first students then being those whose training had been interrupted by the war. Thereafter theintake was about four students every four months.A classroom had been included in the second part of the nurses home opened in 1931 but this was abandoned in favourof the ground floor of one of houses in Vinery Gardens. the upstairs of which being occupied by the resident medicalofficers. At first there was no P.T.S and no block system - lectures taking place during off-duty hours. Nurses had to go upto London for their final R.S.C.N. exams. After the acquisition of the Bursledon Annexe, Miss Morgan was temporarilyappointed as Sister in charge and the P.T.S. was also housed there temporarily. Later the school was at WestwoodHouse for a short while before returning to Winchester Road.In addition to the course for the R.S.C.N. certificate a Preliminary Training School that accepted girls on leaving schooluntil they were 18 and able to start the proper course was initiated. The ‘Block’ system was introduced in September1950. In that year 19 candidates from the hospital sat the final R.S.C.N. exam and 15 passed. Although most of thestudents were local girls, some came from a distance, one from Thurso in the far north of Scotland and another fromGreece. Several of the students who trained at the Children’s Hospital later became valued members of the permanentnursing staff.Reports from the R.C.N. inspectors however were critical about many of the provisions in the hospitals and in 1947 therewas a threat to withdraw recognition. We used the inspector’s criticisms to put pressure on the H.M.C for improvements.Miss Morgan resigned in 1958 to become matron of a special Mother and Baby social project in Athens and was neverreplaced. Unfortunately the R.C.N. also stipulated that continued recognition as a training school depended on therebeing a minimum of one hundred occupied beds available and in spite of much fiddling with figures recognition waseventually withdrawn in 1960.Social ActivitiesWhen Miss Golay took over as matron in 1944 she started regular dances and parties for the nurses which were held inthe O.P. department. Several ex-nurses vividly remember the badly burned airmen coming over from the Marchwoodrehabilitation hospital who were always the most lively and hilarious of guests. In their turn, parties of nurses would beinvited to social functions at various service units in the district. As well as the dances the nurses also produced their ownconcerts, which were put on in O.P.s at Christmas, and of course, these provided a good opportunity to put on sometelling skits about senior members of staff.The festive season has always been important in hospital calendars From the start funds and gifts were provided forparties for both In- and Out-patients. In 1949 the H.M.C. allowed 5/- per head for Christmas festivities. On Christmas Evethe nurses would sing carols around the illuminated Christmas tree in front of the hospital. At about ten o’clock onChristmas morning the hospital would be visited by the Salvation Army Band, who played carols in each of the wards inturn. The noise was terrific but they were very popular. As soon as the band had departed Father Christmas’ entouragewould assemble in O.P.s. He and his sleigh (a trolley) would then ascend in the lift accompanied by the loud ringing of abell. He too would visit each ward in turn distributing toys to the patients as well as to the visiting children of the medicalstaff somewhat to their parent’s embarrassment! As years went by fewer and fewer children remained in hospital overChristmas and those that did were usually very sick, with the result that Father Christmas’ visit became something of anembarrassment. However it remained a pleasant social occasion when the families of the staff were able to meet