Woodborough’s Heritage

Woodborough, a Sherwood Forest Village, recorded in Domesday


Rural District Nurse



A meeting to discuss the scheme for Rural District Nurses will be held in the Reading Room [The Institute] on June 25th 1894 at 3 p.m. Everyone admits the want of trained nurses in country districts, to attend bad cases and especially confinement cases.


The idea is that a trained nurse should be engaged by a Committee to work in Woodborough, Lambley and perhaps Epperstone. She would either be a nurse engaged from outside or one of our own women who would have gone through a period of training at a Hospital. The nurse would have her daily round, calling once or twice on serious cases, and remaining all day and all night at births and critical cases.


Her salary and other expenses would be defrayed partly by subscriptions and partly by quarterly payments from each household. She would not be attached to any doctor nor employed by any religious body, so that all could support her.


Such is the general outline of the scheme of the Victoria Jubilee Nursing Institute, but there are many difficulties in carrying it out locally, the chief of which, as always, is the want of money. It is hoped that the scheme may be heartily taken up at the meeting.


In July 1894 the Rev’d. W. E. Buckland announced that Mrs Maggie Clayton would be Woodborough’s first official District Nurse at a salary of £20 a year after being trained in London. In August he reported that a Nursing Committee was formed, but did not mention the names of the members.


The District Nurse paid 471 visits to 10 cases in the two months of April and May 1895. Subscribers are reminded that the second half of their annual subscriptions are due in August.


Subscribers are reminded that the second portion of their subscriptions will be collected on Monday August 12th.1895. According to the rules of the Nottingham and Notts District Nursing Association the nurse is allowed three weeks holiday in the year, of which she will take a fortnight from Monday, August 19th, to Saturday August 31st. During the month of June she has paid 180 visits to eight cases. During the five months she has worked in Woodborough she has paid 1132 visits to 47 cases. Six of the cases have been confinements, in which she has given the greatest satisfaction. All her patients testify to her attention and kindness, and the great comfort she has been to them. It is hoped that in consideration of this all promised subscriptions will be paid punctually to the collectors and the good work may go on.


During July and August 1895 she paid 526 visits to 10 cases, of which four were confinement cases. As she could not take her holiday in August she will have it in October, if possible, of which notice will be given in the shop windows.


Report 1895, persons applying for an order for the services of the Nurse are requested not to leave without the order, which they can then take on to the Nurse at once. It is impossible for the Superintendent to send orders on at all times; the order should be taken on by the applicant.


A general meeting of the subscribers will be held in the School Room on Tuesday January 14th 1896 at 7 p.m., to fill vacancies on the Committee and receive the annual report. Doctors Simpson and MacTavish have kindly consented to join the Committee. In the meantime Mrs Buckland will ask for fresh annual subscriptions from the persons who have recently come to live here, which, with the annual subscriptions already promised, will be collected on the first Monday in February. In November the Nurse paid 228 visits to 6 cases.


Woodborough Nursing Association

During the month of May 1896 the Nurse paid 190 visits to 11 cases.


In the month of September 1897 the Nurse paid 75 visits to 8 cases. For a portion of the month she was taking her holiday. During the month of April 1899 the Nurse paid 176 visits to 10 cases.


Note: Many early editions of the Newsletter are missing, from those available no other reports have been found so it is not known for how long this Association survived. [Ed 2015]



Acknowledgement:


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