Florence Nightingale and Scutari

• in 1848 there were very few nurses in hospitals and nursing was a career often looked down upon, and it was known that only the drunk, impoverished and prostitutes did it
• Florence came from a wealthy and influential family who were horrified by her choice. It was only after her sister's mental break down in 1852 that she was allowed to become a nurse
• She was very well educated and often spoke about how different she felt from other girls her age
• Due to her families connections, she knew sydney Herbert the reformer MP who wrote to her, begging her to come to skatari ,
• so Florence took 38 nurses to scatari during the Crimean war. When they arrived, there were 2000 men crammed in together in disgusting conditions. Because Florence didn't know about Microbes, she believed the Soldiers were simply 'the great unwashed'and set about cleaning all the soldiers
• Though she didn't decrease the death rate, she:

  • Organised the hospital much more efficiently, ensuring both the soldiers and her would have everything they needed
  • spoke to the Soldiers and wrote personal letters to the parents of the dead, so much so that she was significantly praised by everyone at home
• Florence mainly liked to be in charge

  • Her nurses said she was cruel
  • She would often write to Herbert, influencing him to fire whoever she didn't like
  • Towards the end of the war, sister Brigeman and her nuns came to help Florence. She saw them as competition and had them banished
• The Crimean war was a disaster

  • was not planned well at all
  • not enough doctors or hospitals
  • limited supplies due to disorganisation, Nightingale had to break into store rooms