Royal British Nurses' Association
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The Royal British Nurses' Association was founded in December 1887 by Ethel Bedford-Fenwick, with leading
matron Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in a hospital in several countries, including the United Kingdom, and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person in charge ...
s from voluntary, local authority and military hospitals including; Isla Stewart of
St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 by Rahere, and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by ...
, Godiva Thorold of the
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, Miss Hogg of Haslar Hospital and Anne Gibson of Brownlow Hill Infirmary, Liverpool The early objectives were : to obtain a charter to enable the association to examine and register nurses, conferring degrees; to devise schemes for annuity pensions and sick funds for nurses; the formation and management of convalescent and holiday homes for nurses as well as alms houses for retired nurses; and the organisation of conferences on questions relating to the profession of nursing. It described itself as a union or organisation of nurses for professional objects and campaigned for the establishment of a register of nurses. It wanted the training to last three years with national standards. Princess Christian was the president from its foundation. The first trustees were : His Grace the Duke of St.Albans and His Grace the
Duke of Abercorn The title Duke of Abercorn () is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refers to Abercorn, West Lothian, and t ...
. In 1891, it received the prefix "Royal", and received a
royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but ...
in 1892. In a speech Princess Christian made in 1893, she made clear that the association was working towards "improving the education and ''status'' of those devoted and self-sacrificing women whose whole lives have been devoted to tending the sick, the suffering, and the dying". In the same speech, she warned about opposition and misrepresentation they had encountered. Although the association was in favour of registration as a means of enhancing and guaranteeing the professional status of trained nurses, its charter with the Privy Council allowed it to maintain a list rather than a formal register of nurses, but as the list had no formal status few nurses joined it, and the campaign for registration continued.Seweryn Chomet, ''Helena: A Princess Reclaimed'' (Begell House, New York, 1999) p. 120 The charter altered the constitution, and Mrs Bedford-Fenwick lost her permanent position. One condition of the royal charter was the placing of representatives of medical associations on the Executive Board and especially a large number of
general practitioner A general practitioner (GP) is a doctor who is a Consultant (medicine), consultant in general practice. GPs have distinct expertise and experience in providing whole person medical care, whilst managing the complexity, uncertainty and risk ass ...
s on the committee entrusted with the registration of nurses. The
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had not been in favour of the charter. Alice Ravenhill was the secretary of the association from 1894 to 1897. Other prominent members included Beatrice Cutler, Margaret Graham, Margaret Huxley, Rachel Lumsden Non-nurses included Alice Ravenhill Secretary from 1894; Herbert J. Paterson who was medical honorary secretary c.1910;
Josephine Barnes Dame Alice Josephine Mary Taylor Barnes, (18 August 1912 – 28 December 1999), known professionally as Dr Josephine Barnes, was a leading English obstetrician and gynaecologist. She was the first female president of the British Medical Associ ...
President c.1990. It set up a nurses' co-operative, the Chartered Nurses Association, in 1896. In 1905 it employed 120 nurses taking 7.5% of their earnings. The passing of the Midwives Act 1902 encouraged the campaign for registration of nurses. The association helped to set up the Central Committee for the Society for the State Registration of Trained Nurses in 1908. The RBNA gradually went into decline following the Nurses Registration Act 1919; after six failed attempts between 1904 and 1918, the
British parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
passed the bill allowing formal nurse registration. In 1925 it had about 5,000 members – around a fifth of the membership of the College of Nursing. The Royal British Nurses' Association was still in existence , administering a number of very small charities for sick and disabled nurses until they were closed in 2020.


References

{{authority control Medical associations based in the United Kingdom Nursing organisations in the United Kingdom 1887 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1887 Organisations based in the United Kingdom with royal patronage