Muriel Skeet FRCN (12 July 1926 – 22 November 2006) was a British nurse, known for her international work and publications.

Early life

Skeet was born in Suffolk. Following a private education in Colchester she then joined Endsleigh House School.

Nursing career

Skeet trained as a nurse at London's

Middlesex Hospital Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...

in March 1945, qualifying as a state-registered nurse in 1949. She worked there as a staff nurse, ward sister and administrative sister until 1960. Skeet then spent a year in the South of France and Rome carrying out private nursing including for the

Agnelli Agnelli () is an Italian surname literally meaning "lambs". Notable people with the surname include: *Members of the Agnelli family, the industrial and business family of northern Italy, including: **Edoardo Agnelli (1831–1871), Italian entreprene ...

family. On her return to England, Skeet became a fieldwork organiser with the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust, now

Nuffield Trust The Nuffield Trust, formerly the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust, is a charitable trust with the mission of improving health care in the UK through evidence and analysis. The Nuffield Trust is registered with the Charity Commission as char ...

. During this time, she undertook a one-year course in

medical statistics Medical statistics deals with applications of statistics to medicine and the health sciences, including epidemiology, public health, forensic medicine, and clinical research. Medical statistics has been a recognized branch of statistics in the U ...

and

epidemiology Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

at the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

. In 1965, Skeet went into a research post at the Florence Nightingale Memorial Committee of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, now known as the

Florence Nightingale Foundation The Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) is a charity organisation in the United Kingdom that provides scholarships to nurses, midwives, and other health professionals while serving as a living memorial of the work of Florence Nightingale. His ...

, until 1970. Works that she wrote at this time changed nursing practices: the popularity of her book ''Waiting in Outpatients'' caused appointment systems to be introduced, and ''Marriage and Nursing'' saw crèches introduced for nursing staff with young children. ''Home from Hospital'' was particularly influential in changing how patients were informed ready for discharge and in causing hospitals to investigate the circumstances that patients were being discharged to at home. Skeet was the Nursing Advisor and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) to the

British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

Society from 1970 until 1978. She conducted work in disaster areas for 25 years and her manual for relief work (1975) is still widely used. After this, Skeet worked for the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

until she was 60, and then as a consultant until 1996.

Personal life

When Skeet was 18, her fiancé was killed in the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Death

Skeet died on 22 November 2006.

Honours

Skeet was made a Fellow of the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...

in 1977.

Bibliography

* with Blackman, F. Dame Nita: ''Caribbean woman, world citizen''. (Kingston, Ian Randle Publishers 1995) * ''The age of aging: implications for nursing''. (London,

International Council of Nurses The International Council of Nurses (ICN) is a federation of more than 130 national nurses associations. It was founded in 1899 and was the first international organization for health care professionals. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerl ...

World Health Organisation The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

1989) * ''Emergency procedures and first aid for nurses. 2nd edition.'' (Oxford, Blackwell-Scientific 1988) * ''Nursing science in nursing practice''. (Copenhagen, World Health Organisation 1983) * ''Home from hospital: providing continuing care for elderly people. Some key issues and learning from the field''. (London, King's Fund Centre 1982) * with Smith, J.P., Hockey, L., Cox, C. ''Nursing science in nursing practice''. (London, Butterworths 1981) * ''Emergency procedures and first aid for nurses''. (Oxford, Blackwell 1981) * ''Notes on nursing: the science and the art''. (Edinburgh, Churchill Livingstone 1980) * ''Manual for disaster relief work''. (Edinburgh, Churchill Livingstone 1977) * ''Discharge procedures: practical guidelines for nurses''. (London, Nursing Times 1975) * with Stroud, J. ''Home nursing''. (London, Stanley Paul 1975) * ''"Home from hospital": the results of a survey conducted among recently discharged hospital patients''. (London, Dan Mason Nursing Research Committee 1971) * with Ramsden, G.A. ''Marriage and nursing: a survey of State Registered and State Enrolled Nurses: the fifth report''. (London, Dan Mason Nursing Research Committee 1967) * 'Issues in accountability.' ''Recent Advances in Nursing''. 19. pp. 1–20 (1988) * 'Internationalisation of nursing.' ''Recent Advances in Nursing''. 18. pp. 109–128 (1987) * 'Romantics or realists? WHO initiatives - could be under threat.' ''Nursing Times''. 83(23) p. 20 (1987) * 'Some international concepts of old age.' ''Nursing''. 2(41) pp. 1206–1208 (1985) * 'Community health workers: promoters of inhibitors of primary health care?.' ''International Nursing Review''. 32(2) pp. 55–58 (1985) * with Thompson, R. 'Creative nursing: processive care and more nurses' excellent personal qualities were not being used in their professional practice.' ''Journal of Advanced Nursing''. 10(1) pp. 15–4 (1985) * 'The influence of world trends upon health.' ''Curationis''. 6(4) pp. 11–15 (1983) * 'When elderly people go into hospital: planning long-term nursing care.' ''Nursing Focus''. 4(7) pp. 15–16 (1983) * 'A healthier life for all...the role of nursing.' ''Nursing Mirror''. 155(22) pp. 35–37 (1982) * 'Adding life to years: role of nursing.' ''Nursing Journal of India''. 73. pp. 95–96 (1982) * 'Enhancing old age: the role of nursing.' ''New Zealand Nursing Journal''. 75(8) pp. 8–9 (1982) * 'Enhancing old age: the role of nursing.' ''Nursing Focus.'' 3. pp. 4–5 (1982) * 'How the other half dies...controversy surrounding the promotion and sale of powdered baby milk in the Third World.' ''Nursing Times''. 78(38) pp. 1586–1588 (1982) * 'Primary health care - a case for teamwork.' ''Nursing Focus''. 4(2) pp. 6–14 (1982)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skeet, Muriel British nurses World Health Organization officials British epidemiologists 1926 births 2006 deaths Fellows of the Royal College of Nursing