Dame Sarah Ann Swift,
GBE,
RRC (22 November 1854,
Kirton Skeldyke, Lincolnshire – 27 June 1937,
Marylebone
Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary.
An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...
) was an English
nurse
Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...
and founder in 1916 of the College of Nursing Ltd. which became 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 ...
.
The College of Nursing created the first registers of nurses, a blueprint for the introduction of
Nurse registration in the United Kingdom.
Early life
Swift was born on the Blossom Hall Estate at Kirton Skeldyke in
Holland, Lincolnshire, the daughter of Robert Swift, a
tenant farmer.
She undertook training in nursing at the
Royal Infirmary, Dundee (1877-1890).
Nursing career
Swift held a number of senior nursing and matron positions in
Dundee
Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
(Home for the Incurables 1886). City Hospital
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
(1887),
London Fever Hospital (1888), Seamen's Hospital
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
(1890) then
Guy's Hospital,
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
.
She was Matron of Guy's Hospital (1901–09), then retired,
but at the outbreak of the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
she was appointed matron-Chief for the
British Red Cross Society and the
Order of St John of Jerusalem in England.
Royal College of Nursing
With the Hon.
Arthur Stanley (
MP, Chairman of the Joint War Committee of the
British Red Cross in
World War One ) Swift founded the College of Nursing Ltd . The other four founding members were Miss
Alicia Lloyd-Still (matron of
St. Thomas' Hospital, London), Miss
Rachael Cox-Davies (matron of the
Royal Free Hospital, London), Mr Cooper Perry (Medical superintendent of Guy's Hospital, London) and Mr
Comyns Berkely (consultant at the
Middlesex Hospital
Middlesex Hospital was a teaching hospital located in the Fitzrovia area of London, England. First opened as the Middlesex Infirmary in 1745 on Windmill Street, it was moved in 1757 to Mortimer Street where it remained until it was finally clos ...
, London ).
A letter was sent out to all the training hospitals outlining the idea pointing out that although there was disagreement on issues relating to registration there was a need to coordinated nursing and all trained nurses should unite in one democratic organisation with the power in the hands of the membership.
By 1918 there were 13,000 Members. They elected the first council and set up Centres (later to be called Branches). The College of Nursing Ltd later became the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) modeled on the Royal College of Physicians and surgeons. On 27 March 1916 the College of Nursing was registered as a limited company.
Dame Sarah Swift was the first member of the College of Nursing, member of Council 1916-37, President 1925-27, Vice president 1928-9 and Hon.Treasurer 1927-37
The College of Nursing became the Royal College of Nursing in 1947.
Recognition
In 1916 Swift was made Lady of Grace of the
Order of St John of Jerusalem.
In 1919 she was made
Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) for her services to nursing.
In 1929 she was awarded the
Florence Nightingale medal of the
International Committee of the Red Cross
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a three-time Nobel Prize laureate. The organization has played an instrumental role in the development of rules of war and ...
.
Legacy
A ward at St Thomas Hospital is named after her.
A building at the University of
Lincoln bears her name
References
Sources
*
External links
Official Royal College of Nursing website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Sarah
1854 births
1937 deaths
British nursing administrators
Dames Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire
Members of the Royal Red Cross
People from Kirton, Lincolnshire
People from Marylebone
Presidents of the Royal College of Nursing
British nurses