Eva Luckes
Encyclopedia
Eva Charlotte Ellis Luckes (8 July 1854 – 16 February 1919) was Matron of The London Hospital from 1880 to 1919.
as a paying probationer. Unfortunately, she left after three months, finding the work too strenuous. This did not prevent her from trying again and after a rest, she started at the Westminster Hospital
, completing her training in August 1878. She was appointed night sister at the London Hospital, where she stayed for three months before becoming lady superintendent at the Manchester General Hospital for Sick Children
in Pendlebury
. She resigned from this post after apparently clashing with the medical committee for attempting to instigate reforms in the standard of nurse training. After serving for a short period at the Hospital for Sick Children Great Ormond Street; (Great Ormond Street Hospital
).
. Of the 1,700 who contracted the disease, only 132 died . In 1905 a department for the training of Pupil Midwives was established and was recognised by the Central Midwives Board in February 1906. She also improved the pay of her nurses and encouraged them to join the National Pension Scheme for Nurses that had been established.
; whom Miss Luckes corresponded with at least from 1891 - 1898 . The British Nurses Association (BNA), founded in 1887, was campaigning vigorously for a statutory register of trained nurses as a way to achieve professional status. Both Florence Nightingale and Eva Luckes were opposed to registration on the grounds that the essential qualities of a good nurse would be subordinated to theory and exams. The BNA applied in 1891 to the Board of Trade to become a public company, but failed after a campaign organised by the anti-registrationists. In 1892, the BNA successfully applied for a Royal Charter of Incorporation, although the Privy Council watered down the charter by not including the power to maintain a register. State registration of nurses was not achieved until 1919.
Select Committee set up to investigate the efficiency of metropolitan hospitals. Many charges from other witnesses were made against her department. The Select Committee made its report in 1892 and found not only the charges to be unsubstantiated but that the majority of the allegations were exaggerated. Her achievements were undeniable, however, and she trained nurses who taught others all over the world, including Edith Cavell
. Miss Luckes was decorated a number of times during her career, including the RRC, CBE and Lady of Grace Order of St. John medals .
During the final years of her life her mobility was impaired and she took to using a bath-chair. By 1919, she became acutely ill and was nursed by Sisters from the hospital. She died on 16 February 1919, having been Matron of The London for 39 years. She was cremated and her ashes laid to rest behind a plaque on the north side of St Philip's Church, now the Medical School Library..
A Second Edition was published in 1898, “entirely rewritten and taken out of lecture form”. In its Preface she wrote eloquently of the importance of balance between character and technical knowledge in a good nurse. She ends, ‘There are many belonging to us of whom we can say with just pride, “They help all with whom they come into contact – not because they can produce any number of Certificates, but because they love so much!”’.
A Ninth Edition was published in 1914. In its Introduction she wrote, ‘….if a Nurse is to be worthy of her calling, her work must be inspired with the right spirit of Nursing, i.e. of active sympathy with suffering, manifested by unwearied kindness and unselfish devotion to the patients entrusted to her care’. These words give us some idea of her approach to her life and work and why she opposed the campaign for a Registration Scheme. There is more in the same vein. Anyone who has interest or influence in the strategy of nurse training and discipline might find value in reading, and perhaps quoting, these introductions.
The book was widely used as a teaching aid and reference book by nurses.
She also produced a volume called Hospital Sisters and their Duties, which ran to 4 editions. Both books were a great success.
and
Lady of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England
.
in the BBC
series Casualty 1906, Casualty 1907 and Casualty 1909
.
Early life
Eva Charlotte Ellis Luckes was born in Exeter, Devon on 8 July 1854 into an upper middle class family. Her father, Henry Richard Luckes, was a banker who had established a comfortable home for his family in Newnham, Gloucestershire. Miss Luckes, the eldest of three daughters, was educated at Malvern, Cheltenham College and Dresden. She suffered from some physical disablement and had a horse to help her travel about the countryside. After finishing her education she returned to Newnham and helped her mother run the house and visited the sick of the parish. It was this that developed her interest in nursing.Early career
Miss Luckes began her training in September 1876 when she entered the Middlesex HospitalMiddlesex Hospital
The Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, United Kingdom. First opened in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally closed in 2005. Its staff and services were transferred to various sites...
as a paying probationer. Unfortunately, she left after three months, finding the work too strenuous. This did not prevent her from trying again and after a rest, she started at the Westminster Hospital
Westminster Hospital
Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded....
, completing her training in August 1878. She was appointed night sister at the London Hospital, where she stayed for three months before becoming lady superintendent at the Manchester General Hospital for Sick Children
Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital is a children's hospital based in Chorlton-on-Medlock, Manchester, England. It is part of the Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust...
in Pendlebury
Pendlebury
Pendlebury is a suburban town in the City of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies to the northwest of Manchester city centre, northwest of Salford, and southeast of Bolton....
. She resigned from this post after apparently clashing with the medical committee for attempting to instigate reforms in the standard of nurse training. After serving for a short period at the Hospital for Sick Children Great Ormond Street; (Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...
).
Application and Appointment
Miss Luckes successfully applied for the position of Matron at The London Hospital, where she had begun her professional career. At 26, Miss Luckes was the youngest of the five candidates interviewed and several of the Committee thought her 'too young and too pretty' and were wary of appointing someone with relatively little experience. However, the confidence of the committee members was well founded as she set about introducing a programme of reforms to improve the standard of nursing at the London, although it should be remembered that a Sub-Committee, to review the system, had been appointed in the previous year.Reforms
Miss Luckes' reforms initiated in 1880 were built around a well established plan of what she wanted to achieve, before that date there were Probationers, but their training consisted simply of one year's work on the wards, after which they were considered to be trained nurses, without examination. They were then expected to undertake a further 2 years service. She ensured that nurses were better provided for by seeing that meals were provided and that better accommodation was available. After the reforms it was established that a Probationer's training should last 2 years, the first year being concerned with theoretical knowledge and the second with practical skills. If successful in the examination at the end of this time, the qualified nurse was expected to serve for a further year. The training was later extended to 3 years and 1 year after qualification. In 1884 a class of "Paying Probationers" - those who could afford to pay for their training - was introduced.Training
The selection procedure for new nurses became more rigorous. After an application form had been filled in, there was a personal interview with Matron, a medical examination and a month's trial before being accepted as a probationer. Proper training was given, supplemented by lectures given by Miss Luckes herself and a member of the medical staff. Proper examinations were introduced at the end of the training period. In 1895 the system of training was amended, by the introduction of a 7 week Preliminary Training Course at Tredegar House, devoted almost entirely to classroom learning, followed by an examination. In the summer of 1897 an epidemic of typhoid fever broke out in Maidstone and six of Miss Luckes' Nurses were seconded to help, including Edith CavellEdith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell was a British nurse and spy. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides without distinction and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I, for which she was arrested...
. Of the 1,700 who contracted the disease, only 132 died . In 1905 a department for the training of Pupil Midwives was established and was recognised by the Central Midwives Board in February 1906. She also improved the pay of her nurses and encouraged them to join the National Pension Scheme for Nurses that had been established.
Private Nursing Institution
In June 1885, Miss Luckes introduced a Private Nursing Institution, which was established in January 1886, to provide trained nurses for Private Patients. The purpose of the system was twofold: to boost the reputation and finances of the Hospital and to keep the services of nurses who might otherwise leave.Preliminary Training School - Tredegar House
Miss Luckes introduced the Preliminary Training School in 1895 at Tredegar House. The original school was established in Bow, East London in a Georgian property donated by Lord Tredegar. New probationers could get a feel for the work before entering the wards. It was also a way for Matron to assess whether the prospective nurse was suitable or not. The Preliminary Training School was moved to a purpose built building constructed in 1911-12 by Architect and Hospital surveyor, Rowland Plumbe who himself donated £5,000 towards the cost of building work. The second building was also known as Tredegar House .State Registration
Despite being busy with her reforms at the London, Miss Luckes was fighting proposed reforms to the nursing profession as a whole. Correspondence was written at a turbulent time for Miss Luckes and her contemporary, Florence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale
Florence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
; whom Miss Luckes corresponded with at least from 1891 - 1898 . The British Nurses Association (BNA), founded in 1887, was campaigning vigorously for a statutory register of trained nurses as a way to achieve professional status. Both Florence Nightingale and Eva Luckes were opposed to registration on the grounds that the essential qualities of a good nurse would be subordinated to theory and exams. The BNA applied in 1891 to the Board of Trade to become a public company, but failed after a campaign organised by the anti-registrationists. In 1892, the BNA successfully applied for a Royal Charter of Incorporation, although the Privy Council watered down the charter by not including the power to maintain a register. State registration of nurses was not achieved until 1919.
Critics
As well as campaigning against registration, Eva Luckes found herself under attack from those who criticised her method of management. Her critics complained of the long hours and heavy responsibilities she expected from probationers; the hours were demanding: 7 a.m. - 9 p.m., with half an hour for lunch and the pay was £10 a year. They disliked her two (rather than three) year training course and her opposition to nurse registration. In 1890-91 she was called before a House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
Select Committee set up to investigate the efficiency of metropolitan hospitals. Many charges from other witnesses were made against her department. The Select Committee made its report in 1892 and found not only the charges to be unsubstantiated but that the majority of the allegations were exaggerated. Her achievements were undeniable, however, and she trained nurses who taught others all over the world, including Edith Cavell
Edith Cavell
Edith Louisa Cavell was a British nurse and spy. She is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides without distinction and in helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I, for which she was arrested...
. Miss Luckes was decorated a number of times during her career, including the RRC, CBE and Lady of Grace Order of St. John medals .
Later Life and death
As time progressed, Miss Luckes' health deteriorated. She suffered from arthritis, diabetes and cataracts.During the final years of her life her mobility was impaired and she took to using a bath-chair. By 1919, she became acutely ill and was nursed by Sisters from the hospital. She died on 16 February 1919, having been Matron of The London for 39 years. She was cremated and her ashes laid to rest behind a plaque on the north side of St Philip's Church, now the Medical School Library..
Publications
Matron Luckes published her lectures in book form in 1884, General Nursing.A Second Edition was published in 1898, “entirely rewritten and taken out of lecture form”. In its Preface she wrote eloquently of the importance of balance between character and technical knowledge in a good nurse. She ends, ‘There are many belonging to us of whom we can say with just pride, “They help all with whom they come into contact – not because they can produce any number of Certificates, but because they love so much!”’.
A Ninth Edition was published in 1914. In its Introduction she wrote, ‘….if a Nurse is to be worthy of her calling, her work must be inspired with the right spirit of Nursing, i.e. of active sympathy with suffering, manifested by unwearied kindness and unselfish devotion to the patients entrusted to her care’. These words give us some idea of her approach to her life and work and why she opposed the campaign for a Registration Scheme. There is more in the same vein. Anyone who has interest or influence in the strategy of nurse training and discipline might find value in reading, and perhaps quoting, these introductions.
The book was widely used as a teaching aid and reference book by nurses.
She also produced a volume called Hospital Sisters and their Duties, which ran to 4 editions. Both books were a great success.
Honours
Matron Luckes's achievements were recognised by: Commander of the British Empire, Royal Red CrossRoyal Red Cross
The Royal Red Cross is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing.The award was established on 27 April 1883 by Queen Victoria, with a single class of Member...
and
Lady of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Television portrayal
Matron Luckes is played by Cherie LunghiCherie Lunghi
Cherie M. Lunghi is an English film, television and theatre actress. She is probably best known for her role as Guinevere in the 1981 film Excalibur, as football manageress Gabriella Benson in the 1990s television series The Manageress and for starring in a series of adverts for Kenco coffee. She...
in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
series Casualty 1906, Casualty 1907 and Casualty 1909
.