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Catherine Hall (nurse)

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Dame Catherine Mary Hall DBE FRCN (19 December 1922 – 26 August 1996) was a British nurse and nursing administrator who was a long serving General Secretary of the UK's Royal College of Nursing (1957–1982).

Catherine Mary Hall
DBE FRCN
Born1922 (1922)
Died1996 (aged 73–74)
Occupationnurse
Employer(s)Birmingham Children's Hospital, Leeds General Infirmary, Middlesex Hospital, Royal College of Nursing

Early life and education

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Hall was born on 19 December 1922 in Sheffield, England.[1] Her father was the chief constable in Rotherham, which is where she moved when she was still a child.[2] Hall went to school at Hunmanby School for Girls at Filey, Yorkshire and then went on to study nursing at Leeds General Hospital.[3]

Nurse training and early career

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Hall knew from the age of 14 that she wanted to be a nurse, but her parents were against this.[4] It was after World War II broke out that she began her career at Birmingham Children's Hospital[4] where she started her nurse training.[5] Hall made the move from Birmingham to Leeds to be closer to her mother who had become ill.[5] 1941-1944 Hall undertook nurse training at Leeds General Infirmary, registering as a nurse in June 1944.[6] She then undertook Part 1 midwifery training at Leeds Maternity Hospital.[7]

Hall interrupted her midwifery studies to become Ward Sister at Leeds General Infirmary where she was the youngest person to fill that role at age 22; she was responsible for a women’s surgical ward of 36 beds.[7] She then completed Part 2 of her midwifery training at Moorgate General Hospital, Rotherham,[7] returning to Leeds General Infirmary for various roles before becoming Night Superintendent in 1950[7] by age 28.[4]

Hall was the first recipient of a travelling fellowship awarded by the United Leeds Hospitals' Board of Governors in 1950.[7] She spent six months 1951-1952, studying nursing in Canada and the United States.[2][7] Upon her return she became Assistant Matron at the Leeds General Infirmary.[7] She was soon awarded another scholarship in 1954, this time by the Joint Committee of the Order of St. John and British Red Cross. Hall took the year long nursing administration (i.e. management) course at the Royal College of Nursing.[7][2]

In 1954-1956 Hall was appointed Assistant Matron at the Middlesex Hospital.[2]

General Secretary of the Royal College of Nursing

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The Royal College of Nursing had to advertise twice before appointing Hall in 1957 as its General Secretary, replacing Frances Goodall at the age of 34.[5]

It was during Hall's time as General Secretary, and under her leadership, that the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) became a trade union in 1977 which she felt was an 'essential step'.[8] Although Hall was opposed to industrial action,[3] she publicly criticised the governments proposed 2.5% salary hike for nurses.[2] After a confrontation with Enoch Powell, Conservative MP and Minister of Health, Hall negotiated a 7.5% increase.[4] Another achievement during Hall's time as General Secretary was her support of the campaign to allow men to join the RCN and the registers were opened to them in 1960 with the lifting of the constitutional ban.[9] The first man to become an RCN member was Albery Verdun Whittamore, chief male nurse at Horton Psychiatric Hospital.[5] It was also during her time as General Secretary that Hall opened the nursing registers to enrolled nurses in 1969 and then a year later to student nurses.[10] Hall's contribution to the RCN was to increase the membership from 30,000 to 200,000.[8]

Hall served on many committees including between 1961 and 1963 the influential Platt Committee on Nursing Education for the RCN, led by Harry Platt which published as the Platt Report 1964.[11][12]

Key roles included:

Awards

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References

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  1. ↑ "Hall; Dame; Catherine Mary (1922–1996); nurse". Royal College of Nursing.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hancock, Christine (2 September 1996). "Obituary: Dame Catherine Hall". The Independent. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  3. 1 2 Smith, Lorraine N. (31 August 1996). "Dame Catherine Hall". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Whyte, Alison (1996). "The pearl inside the twinset". Nursing Times. 92 (37).
  5. 1 2 3 4 McGann, Susan; Crowther, Anne; Dougall, Rona (1 January 2009). A history of the Royal College of Nursing 1916–1990 : a voice for nurses. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-71907-796-8. OCLC 317748939.
  6. ↑ State Register of Nurses. General Nursing Council. 1946.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "New College Officers". Nursing Times. [53]: [457]–. 26 April 1957.
  8. 1 2 Leifer, Dina (1996). "Nursing pays tribute to Dame Catherine Hall". Nursing Standard. 10 (37): 6. doi:10.7748/ns.10.37.6.s4. PMID 27654355.
  9. ↑ "100 years of the RCN". The Royal College of Nursing.
  10. ↑ "Former RCN general secretary dies". Nursing Times. 92 (35): 6. 1996.
  11. ↑ "A reform of nursing education first report of a special committee". RCN Digital Archive. 1964.
  12. 1 2 Hancock, Christine (1996). "Dame Catherine Mary Hall DBE CBE Hon DLitt SRN SCM FRCN". Nursing Standard. 10 (50): 11. doi:10.7748/ns.10.50.11.s28.
  13. ↑ "Hall; Dame; Catherine Mary (1922-1996); nurse leader". rcn.epexio.com. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
  14. ↑ "No. 44210". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1966. p. 11.
  15. ↑ "RCN Fellowship and Honorary Fellowship Roll of Honour" (PDF). Royal College of Nursing. 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  16. ↑ "No. 47207". The London Gazette. 26 April 1977. p. 5634.
  17. ↑ "No. 48837". The London Gazette. 30 December 1981. p. 7.
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