Nursing down memory lane

This year Corrections celebrates the golden anniversary of nursing in prisons, honouring the vital work nurses have done for the past 50 years.

The nurses in our prisons today are skilled healthcare professionals, often with a wealth of experience behind them.

“I have experience in medical, surgical, oncology, mental health and in the community as a Tamariki Ora and as a Community Health Nurse,” explains Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility Health Centre Manager Virginia Dyall-Kalidas.

This level of professionalism is a far cry from early days in New Zealand’s prisons. In the 1800s, prisoners’ health needs were in the hands of colonial surgeons and prison medical officers; basic nursing duties were often the responsibility of the head gaoler’s wife.

A colonial surgeon was often untrained, his only qualification being that he had access to sharp tools. A medical officer (generally the local doctor) visited the prisons and made recommendations about treatment, but custodial staff – or their wives – did the day-to-day nursing.

In 1957 Dr W H B Bull was appointed as the first director of Prison Medical Services. He made recommendations to recruit nurses, but questioned the wisdom of having women in an all male environment.

This led to male medical personnel from the armed forces being employed by prisons, and because they were accustomed to dealing with men, they also had a custodial component to their duties.

The first woman became part of the prison healthcare workforce in 1960. Gradually, more and more women were employed as nurses in prisons, and while it wasn’t until the 80s that the custodial component of their jobs was officially removed, women weren’t expected to fulfil this role.

In the mid 70s nursing in prisons underwent changes and core nursing tasks were identified. There were further changes from 2000 to 2002 and these led to our current prison health services, in which prisoners must receive healthcare of an equal standard to that they could receive in the community.

“While I’ve always acted professionally in my nursing duties, these days nurses constantly need to up-skill,” says Sue McDonald, who recently retired from nursing after 23 years service with Corrections.

“When I first started I was working in isolation and we just had to get on with it. These days there’s the distinct recognition that nurses shouldn’t be working like that.”

The last 50 years has seen the evolution of health services in prisons go from unskilled colonial surgeons to professional, skilled and committed health staff who are aligned in every way to the primary health sector.

As our kaupapa says: Kotahi ano te kaupapa: ko te orange o te iwi – there is only one purpose (to our work): it is the wellness and the well-being of the people.