Frances Goodall

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(8 December 1893 – 22 July 1976) was a British nurse who was General Secretary of the

Royal College of Nursing The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is a registered trade union in the United Kingdom for those in the profession of nursing. It was founded in 1916, receiving its royal charter in 1928. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron until her death in 2022. ...

and a founder of what became the

Colostomy Association The Colostomy Association is a British health charity that began in 1967 as the Colostomy Welfare Group. It became the Colostomy Association in 2005. Its goal is to represent the interests of people with a colostomy through providing support, i ...

Personal life and career

Goodall was born in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half ...

in 1893 into a well off household. She was educated at home with her two brothers. Her family were in the medical profession and seeing her uncle at work made her decide to be a nurse. She spent two years teaching at Camden High School for Girls but then joined

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the King's Health Partners, an academic health science cent ...

as a trainee nurse where her three uncles had also trained. She served in several roles as a sister before specialising in the treatment of eyes. In 1928 she became the assistant General Secretary of the

College of Nursing Nurse education consists of the theoretical and practical training provided to nurses with the purpose to prepare them for their duties as nursing care professionals. This education is provided to student nurses by experienced nurses and other med ...

which was established with a Royal Charter that year. In 1935 Goodall became College of Nursing's General Secretary when the

Trades Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances O ...

promoted a

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

to secure a 48-hour working week for all hospital employees. The college opposed this and was accused by the TUC of being "an organisation of voluntary snobs". She was given an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 1944. In 1948 the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

was created and she sat on the

Joint industrial council A joint industrial council (JIC) or national joint industrial council (NJIC), known as a Whitley council in some fields, especially white-collar and government, is a statutory council of employers and trade unions established in the United Kingdom ...

which was the formal meeting of the nurses with their new employees. Her organisation got on well with

Aneurin Bevan Aneurin "Nye" Bevan PC (; 15 November 1897 – 6 July 1960) was a Welsh Labour Party politician, noted for tenure as Minister of Health in Clement Attlee's government in which he spearheaded the creation of the British National Heal ...

and welcomed the NHS at a time when the doctor's organisation was not in favour of the change. In 1953 she was awarded a CBE and she retired in 1957 and she was succeeded by

Catherine Mary Hall Dame Catherine Mary Hall (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). Early life and education Hall was born ...

. In 1967 she was a founder of the Colostomy Welfare Group with

Gertrude Swithenbank Gertrude or Gertrud may refer to: Places In space *Gertrude (crater), a crater on Uranus's moon Titania *710 Gertrud, a minor planet Terrestrial placenames *Gertrude, Arkansas *Gertrude, Washington * Gertrude, West Virginia People * Gertrude (g ...

. This would become the

. Goodall died in the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at B ...

in 1976.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goodall, Frances 1893 births 1976 deaths People from Dulwich British women nurses Nurses from London 20th-century British women