Mental Nursing Some Present Day Difficulties
16 MENTAL WELFARE
The Conference on Present Day Difficulties in Mental Nursing?which we announced in our last issue?held at High Leigh, Hoddesdon, Herts., from November 15th to 17th, proved to be a very interesting and ” worthwhile ” experiment.
Although the attendance was small and there was a disappointing absence of the Mental Hospital Matrons whom it was expressly designed to attract, there was a very friendly atmosphere and much lively discussion, centering on the subjects: ?
How to attract the right type of girl for the mental nursing profession.
(2) The need for improvement in the conditions under which many nurses in private mental institutions are employed.
The Conference was to have been opened by Sir Francis Frcmantle but owing to the exigencies of his political work consequent on the General Election he was prevented from attending in person. In a letter read by the Chairman (Dr Noel Harris), Sir Francis wrote: ?
” The complete health of body and mind, which is aimed at in the Public Health services of to-day, depends on a proper grounding in Physiology, a recognition of actual facts which constitute the human machine and its functions. But amongst these tacts have now to be recognised the facts of the spirit which rules the processes of both body and mind. It is impossible any longer to dissociate the health 01* the disease and care of body and mind from the activity of the spirit. The importance of spiritual health is becoming increasingly recognised?although often narrowed down under the Greek synonym of psychology? and its value is estimated no less by the experience under religious orders, where too little attention may at times be given to the purely bodily and mental factors, than by that of secular establishments in which spiritual health may have had too little attention.
” It is this new scientific understanding of the spiritual basis of human nature that seems to me to throw a hopeful light on many of the difficulties with which patients, doctors, administrators and nurses are faced in their devoted care of the mentally sick. It demands greater emphasis on the spiritual aspects of their work, both in principle and practice, both in routine and in particular treatment, not only in the therapeutic work of a hospital but in the administrative practice which sets the tone to the whole staff.”
Dr Newsholme, Medical Officer of Health for Birmingham, in an address on The Nurse and the Sicin Mind, stressed the qualities most needed in mental nursing. He particularly urged the importance of every nurse realising that in both mental defect and mental disorder there is no hard and fast line dividing these conditions from the normal. There were qualities in us all which we shared with the defective and with the mental patient?even though in our own case they may not have been suffered to exist unchecked.
The ideal nurse should, he felt, have a sense of vocation, with a religious basis, but those who entered the profession lacking this, might yet become ideal nurses if they grew to realise their patients’ need of help and the part they had to play in meeting that need. A sound psychological knowledge was also essential but that must be subservient to the realisation that the patient was a creature of spirit as well as of mind and body. In a paper dealing with The Social Significance of Mental Nursing, by Miss E. F. Turner, Psychiatric Social Worker, Springfield Mental Hospital, the need was urged for team work on the part of the mental nurse, the social worker and the psychiatrist, based on an understanding of the character, value and significance of the work of each in promoting the welfare of the patient.
Dr Noel Harris, Physician for Psychological Medicine, The Middlesex Hospital, completed the first day’s deliberations with a stimulating address on The Equipment of the Mental Hospital Nurse.
The second day’s session of the Conference was chiefly devoted to discussion on the subjects dealt with by the principal speakers, being opened by Miss Taylor, Matron of Chartham Downs Mental Hospital and by Miss Gallon, Sister-Tutor, Bethlem Mental Hospital. The following Resolutions were adopted as the outcome of the discussion: ? (1) That the urgent need for suitable candidates for Mental Nursing be made known, such candidates being preferably educated girls capable of studying the necessary psychology and with a vocation for the work.
(2) That all administrative authorities be urged to study more sympathetically the organisation of their Mental Hospitals with a view to providing better amenities for the nurses, with special consideration for their times of duty and off-duty.
(3) That such authorities be also urged to give adequate consideration to the value of the services of a Resident Chaplain in helping to create the right spirit in the nursing staff.
(4) That the appropriate authorities and individuals be approached with regard to the possibility of providing open hospitality for Mental Hospital Nurses in private houses situated in the locality of their Hospitals.
It was also proposed that a letter be sent to the Mental Hospital Matrons’ Association with regard to the proceedings of the Conference and that a pamphlet be written on Mental Nursing as a profession for the educated girl; further that the possibility of a Club for Mental Nurses in London be explored.
A further Conference at High Leigh will be arranged later, particulars of which can be obtained from Miss E. M. Hankin, 12, Vicarage Gate, W.8. The publication by the Vocational Service Committee of the Christian Social Council of a pamphlet, Mental Sufferers and Christian Service,* is another move in the direction of drawing attention to the need of workers in the field of Mental Nursing and Mental Health. The pamphlet outlines briefly the nature of the various sections of the work calling for recruits, the qualities needed, and the academic qualifications necessary for its professional branches. There is a useful list of Societies concerned with Mental Health, in its administrative, social, and religious aspects and other information for enquirers is given briefly and concisely.
The pamphlet has a foreword by Dr Newsholme who warmly commends it ” to those seeking a field of service.”
Disclaimer
The historical material in this project falls into one of three categories for clearances and permissions:
Material currently under copyright, made available with a Creative Commons license chosen by the publisher.
Material that is in the public domain
Material identified by the Welcome Trust as an Orphan Work, made available with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
While we are in the process of adding metadata to the articles, please check the article at its original source for specific copyrights.