Dorothy Coode

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Dorothy S Coode
Born1873 (1873)
St. Austell, Cornwall, England
Died1967 (aged 93–94)
Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, England
Alma materSt. Thomas' Hospital
OccupationNurse
Known forLeader of the nursing profession in the UK, President of the Royal College of Nursing 1935-7
HonoursOBE

Dorothy Sandys Coode (abt1873 - 1967) was a British nurse, leader of the nursing profession and President of the Royal College of Nursing.

Contents

Early life

Dorothy Sandy Coode was born in 1873 in Saint Austell, Cornwall  to Claudia and William Coode, a banker. [1]  

Nursing career

Coode undertook her nurse training from 1899 to 1902 at St. Thomas' Hospital and this included visits to Florence Nightingale. [2] [3] In 1903 she was appointed Nightingale Home Sister. This role included attending to the welfare of the probationers (the name given to those in training) and providing some practical training before they started their training on the wards. [3] Coode pioneered and was the sister in charge of the first preliminary training school (PTS) at St. Thomas’ Hospital under Matron Lloyd Still. [2] In 1924 she was appointed assistant matron and retained this post until her retirement in 1933.  With the outbreak of the Second World War she returned to work at St. Thomas Hospital, first in the Matron's office then in charge of the Riddell House Nurses' Home.  There were numerous accounts of her bravery in caring for the nurses during air raids. [3]

Coode was active at regional and national level in the development of the nursing profession. She was elected to the first General Nursing Council 1923–1927. [4] An active member of the College of Nursing Ltd, later the Royal College of Nursing (RCN), she was chairman of the London Region branch, then President of the Council (1935–1937), vice chairman (1937–1940), chairman of the College Council (1940-46) and then vice-president in 1953. [5] Coode contributed particularly to the Education Committee of the RCN and was influential in establishing course for industrial nurses and for International Nurses. [6] In her RCN positions, she was a public advocate for greater proportions of trained nurses to be employed, appropriate accommodation and 56 hour per fortnight working hours as well as for a Department of Nursing in the Ministry of Health. [7] [8]

Coode was awarded an OBE in 1943 for her services to nursing. [9]

Death

Coode died aged 94 on 3 September 1967 in Howards House, Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire. [10] A memorial service was held in the chapel of St. Thomas' Hospital. [11]

References

  1. ↑ Census England & Wales 1881 Class: RG11; Piece: 2302; Folio: 106. The National Archives Public Record Office – via Ancestry.
  2. 1 2 Bendall, E R D; Raybould, E (1969). A History of the General Nursing Council for England & Wales 1919–1969. London: H K Lewis & Co. Ltd. pp. 68, 277.
  3. 1 2 3 "Dorothy S. Coode, O.B.E". Nursing Times. Vol. 63, no. 37. 15 September 1967. p. 1247.
  4. ↑ "General Nursing Council". The Times. London. 1 February 1923. p. 12.
  5. ↑ Bowman, Gerald (1967). The Lamp and the Book: the Story of the RCN 1916––1966. London: The Queen Anne Press Ltd. pp. 192–7.
  6. ↑ "College of Nursing Announcements". Nursing Times. Vol. 31, no. 1551. 19 January 1935. p. 65.
  7. ↑ Coode ., D S (13 February 1936). "Nurses' Hours". The Times. London. p. 13.
  8. ↑ Coode, D S (3 February 1941). "The Nursing Profession". The Times. London. p. 5.
  9. ↑ "The New Year Honours". The Times. London. 4 January 1943. p. 8.
  10. ↑ Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England. Public Records Office. 1967. p. 420 – via Ancestry.
  11. ↑ "Deaths". The Times. London. 21 October 1967. p. 10.
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