12
Physiotherapy
Jan Caudwell Tauranga Hospital 1962
Physiotherapy
Kind friends arranged a job for me in mid-1962 as the Physiotherapy Assistant so that I could be near my terminally ill mother .
Assisting the physiotherapists , Mr Asa Neame and Miss Beverley Jones , I typed the weekly Orthopaedic Clinic notes dictated by Dr Coates-Milson . This was somewhat fraught , trying to spell the medical words , some of which had dual meanings ! Asa and Bev enhanced my education and embarrassment in turn .
Jeannie Barker was in the Reception Office next door and no one passed that way without her scrutiny and approval . She was a vast source of information . Sister Flan ( Flannery ) ran the Outpatients Department in the room opposite and was a wonderful , motherly source of support and medical information . ( A memorial to her is in the Tauranga Hospital Chapel ).
At the Christmas concert , Drs Cath and Graeme Darby , coached some medical students and me in a Can Can routine . Andrew , one of the student doctors was on duty in ED and was loathe to wear stage make-up . He was finally persuaded , only to be called away to an emergency where the elderly gentleman was more bewildered by the bright red lipstick and the make-up , than his medical complaint .
With support from the Physiotherapy Department I trained as a physiotherapist and returned to work here in the holidays . Ward 1 Orthopaedics rounds involved us progressing down the long corridor with Dr Coates-Milson and Sister in front , and everyone else behind two-by-two in seniority order . I was last .
When qualified , I was sent to Tauranga Hospital for my compulsory bursar years . The Mount Maunganui Surf Club members were my saviours when on-call at weekends . As we only had landline phones and the beach was the only place to be , I would notify the lifeguard where I was on the beach ( swim caps were distinctive then ) and if a call came for me , they would send the patrol down to tell me . My car was in their parking lot so uniform-over-togs , brush off sandy feet , and I was at the hospital in a matter of minutes . I am not sure if Stancie Williams , then Charge Physiotherapist , approved .
I was able to repay their assistance by finding a special traction collar for a lifeguard injured in a nasty car accident as a team returned from competitions .
For some younger people injured in accidents the goal was to dance with their nurses at the annual Hospital Ball . The courage , determination and humour in adverse circumstances , shown by so many patients were always an inspiration . For example , a lady with MS , who lived for years in Ward 17 ; the elderly quadriplegic man who lost most of his family on the Kaimai Road ; the young Japanese seaman who fell into a hold on his ship fracturing his pelvis . Communication was limited , and interpreters were scarce , but we made him feel at home . Eventually he left hospital to return to his ship . The shipping company presented Tauranga Hospital with a beautifully decorated Japanese doll ( quite special at the time ) as a mark of gratitude .
Uniform was regulation white dress , with bachelor buttons down the front and blue epaulets , a blue woollen cape when going outside and between the various buildings . Shoes were brown lace-up .
In 1965-66 the first Intensive Care Unit ( ICU ) was opened and as I was the most recent graduate I was assigned to the ICU . One of the anaesthetists used an Intermittent Positive Pressure Respirator ( IPPR ), manufactured by the Bird Corporation . This required physiotherapists to assist with Ambu bagging when it was disconnected from the patient .
However , the ICU was sometimes empty and the anaesthetist offered me the IPPR to use for respiratory patients in the Ward . This sparked an interest and I visited the Bird Corporation to learn how to use and assemble the machine . Many Americans , including Bob Hope , used IPPR daily to keep ‘ healthy ’.
I enjoyed my work , and frequently had to crank my small Vauxhall car watched by an amused patient audience in the building above , and once several bachelor buttons popped on my uniform during an active ‘ knee exercise ’ class .
Christmas circa 1965 : From left , the Physio Aid , the Orderly , Peter Ewart , Jill Ewart , Jan Tully , Jan Miller and in front Glenda Leaning . Note the equipment stashed above the Guthrie Smith frame over the treatment plinth .
35