Blaze e-catalogue - Catalog - Page 84
Lucy
Osburn
1836-1891
Pioneer health
administrator
Lucy Osburn pioneered advancements in patient
care, reformed nursing practices and set
a path for women to hold senior administration
positions in the NSW public health system.
In 1868, Colonial Secretary for the Colony
of NSW, Henry Parkes, recruited Osburn as Lady
Superintendent for the Sydney Infirmary and
Dispensary on the recommendation of Florence
Nightingale. Arriving from London, Osburn was
confronted with disarray. The 1815-built Infirmary
was crumbling. It had no proper facilities for
nurses, stinking underground sewers, inadequate
running water and vermin infestations.
Osburn’s authority was also unclear. After
numerous appeals, Osburn had the hospital
thoroughly cleaned, and secured new patient
gowns, bed linen and uniforms for staff.
“The duties of the nursing staff
are in our opinion discharged
in a highly satisfactory
manner, under the efficient
management of Miss Osburn.”
NSW Legislative Assembly, Votes and Proceedings, 1873–74,
‘First Report of the Royal Commission into Public Charities, 1873’,
Vol. 6, p. 80
Despite Osburn’s success, there were detractors
who claimed that she favoured Catholics, and
they questioned her nurses’ behaviour. The 1873
Royal Commission into Public Charities heard that
Obsurn had ambitions—and for her fellow nurses
too! One physician wanted a ‘lady with more quiet
tact’. Osburn’s critics were rejected outright and
her authority, reinforced. In 1884, Osburn resigned
from the Infirmary and returned to England.
Above
Lucy Osburn (detail)
J H Newman, c.1870-1890, SLNSW, PXA 345, Item 17
health
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