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Nurses
There were two nurses in Dunston, Nurse Simpson and Nurse Porteous who was also a midwife. She attended mothers before, during and after birth. Few people went to hospital to have their babies.
She was very brisk and efficient, dressed in her starched white apron. Both nurses ran a baby clinic, which was opposite the Dun Cow, in a large building below the library. They weighed babies, gave advice to mothers and handed out powered milk and jars of cod liver oil and malt. In the clinic there was also a room where children could have sun-ray treatment.
The nurses helped the doctors' visits to schools where children were physically examined, had a simple eye test and heads checked for lice. Nurse Porteous also took guides through their First aid and Home Craft badges. Before nurses were directly employed by GPs Sisters Pearson and Brown were the district midwives. Later Sisters Annabelle (Moon) and Berelay were district nurses aligned to Glenpark.
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in Dunston (around 1911).
Comments
There were two other midwives in Dunston that I know about. Nurse Gibson lived in Holmeside Avenue and had a son called Norman. Nurse Watts was I believe grandmother of the Thomas family who lived in King George Avenue.
Posted by: Stan McRae at November 23, 2007 4:16 PM