Ida Barbara Helen Quaile (née Renton 28 March 1906 – 15 February 1999) was a Scottish nurse, midwife, Matron of

Glasgow Victoria Infirmary The Victoria infirmary was a teaching hospital situated at Langside/Battlefield in the south-east of Glasgow from 1880 until 2015. It was managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. History A competition was held to design a 120-bedded hospital an ...

and Lady Superintendent of

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Com ...

Early life and training

Quaile was born in Edinburgh on 28 March 1906, the second child of Ida Sandeman, of the Sandeman port and wine family, and David Renton, a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

. She was educated at St Trinnean's School for Girls in Edinburgh where she was Head Girl. In 1927 she began four years of nursing training at Edinburgh's Royal Infirmary and was admitted to the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union and professional body in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916 as the College of Nursing, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Eliz ...

in 1932. A believer in continuing education she went on to gain a

Diploma in Nursing A Diploma in Nursing or Nursing Diploma is an entry-level tertiary education nursing credential. Background In the United States, this diploma is usually awarded by hospital-based nursing schools. Diploma programs in the United States require ...

from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1936, received the Central Midwives' Board for Scotland midwife teachers' qualification in 1939, and in 1946, was registered as a Sister Tutor by the General Nursing Council for Scotland.

Career

After qualifying as a nurse, she went to work at the

Kent and Canterbury Hospital Kent is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Greater London to the north-west. ...

before returning to Scotland to take up the position of assistant matron at the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion in Edinburgh. In 1940 she moved to work at the 2,000-bed emergency war hospital, Bangor Hospital near

Livingston Livingston or Livingstonemay refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North Am ...

. She was appointed

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 ...

at the hospital, making her, at that time, the youngest woman in Scotland to hold such a position. In 1946, she was appointed matron of Glasgow Royal Infirmary, remaining there until 1955, after which she took up the position of lady superintendent of the

. In the hospitals that Quaile oversaw, she implemented changes and efficiencies, including portering services to transport patients to and from wards rather than using nursing staff, actively encouraging the employment of male nurses, advocating for senior staff to live out from the hospital, and seeking improvements to nursing accommodation. Considered a strict disciplinarian with high standard, she was respected by both staff and patients. In 1958 she received an OBE for services to nursing.

Professional activities

Quaile held several professional positions during her career and after her retirement. She was a member of the General Nursing Council for Scotland, and Secretary, and later President, of the Association of Scottish Hospital Matrons, representing the Association at the

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

. She served on the Scottish Board of the Royal College of Nursing and from 1944 to 1948 was a member of the Board's Reconstruction Committee which examined the future of nursing after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She was a member of the Western Region Hospitals Board and helped establish the Marie Curie Centre at

Hunters Hill Hunters Hill is a suburb of Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Hunters Hill is located north-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government in Australia, local ...

, chairing its house committee. From 1961 to 1968 she was president of

Bearsden Bearsden ( ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the northwestern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. The Roman Empire, Roman Antonine Wall runs through the town, and the remains of ...

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

, from 1968 to 1971 chair of the board of governors of Queens College, and a director of Balmanno Homes adult care centres.

Personal life

Her interests included painting and music. She retired in 1958 to marry Kenneth McEwan Quaile, a widower and

stockbroker A stockbroker is an individual or company that buys and sells stocks and other investments for a financial market participant in return for a commission, markup, or fee. In most countries they are regulated as a broker or broker-dealer and ...

from Glasgow. Quaile died in Glasgow on 15 February 1999, aged 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quaile, Barbara 1906 births 1999 deaths Scottish nurses Nurses from Edinburgh Female wartime nurses Nurses of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Officers of the Order of the British Empire