11 May
As the world celebrates International Nurses Day on May 12th, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, Corrections is celebrating an anniversary of their own.
This year marks 50 years of nursing in prisons and it’s been a half century filled with many changes.
“While nurses in prisons and Health Services staff have always acted professionally, the role they’ve played in the health care of prisoners has greatly evolved,” says National Health Services Manager Bridget White.
“Historically health services in prisons dealt with immediate needs only but these days Health Services provides a full primary health service equivalent to that found in the community.
“Prisoners are often received with high, complex and unmet health needs such as cardiovascular disease, unstable diabetes and communicable diseases. These health needs demand greater diagnosis, on-going treatment and education than in the past.
“Health Services in prison sees the full range of health issues from minor health needs to people who are terminally ill. If required prisoners are referred to DHB health services based on the same eligibility criteria as any other member of the public.”
This is in great contrast to the days of old when any medical needs would be met only if they required treatment from a Colonial Surgeon who’s only qualification was often the fact he owned sharp instruments.
“In those days any actual nursing requirements were the realm of the gaoler’s wife who didn’t necessarily have any qualifications either. It wasn’t until 1957 that a formal organisation of health delivery was introduced.
“It took another two years for it to be possible for prisons to recruit nurses. They were male nurses and came from a medical background in the armed forces,” explains Bridget. “The first female nurse was employed in a prison as matron at Invercargill Borstal in 1960.”
There were originally concerns about having women working in prisons but through the years and periods of restructuring the custodial aspect of nurses duties in prison were removed, centering the role solely on the health needs of prisoners.
It is this focus, expertise and dedication to duty in a sometimes trying environment that Corrections is honouring this week.
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