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Palmerston North E.P.S.
House Patrols.

The House Patrols have been arranged to form a connecting link between

the residents of the city & the officers of the Medical & Public Health

section of the E.P.S.

They come under that Committee & have representatives on it.

The divisions & sub-divisions into which the city has been [divided] for

the organisation of the fire services are being used in the working

scheme of these patrols.

The organisation consists of a senior woman warden (with H.Q., in an

emergency at the Medical Headquarters) also four block wardens, who are

responsible for the arrangement of the patrols for each area in their

respective blocks.

These patrols consist of four persons each, two women & two boy scouts,

who will work in pairs.

Provision has been made for carrying on without telephones,

Two girl cyclists, trained as messengers in the W.W.S.A. are attached

to the senior woman warden & two to each block warden.

The scouts will act as messengers to the house patrols.

All members of the patrols will make themselves familiar with the

positions of the communication points, dressing stations & canteen

depots. The latter will be very necessary in the event of ordinary

heating [arrangements] being out of order.

A copy of the instructions issued to the members of the house patrols

by the controller is enclosed, by a perusal of these instructions

House Patrols P.N. E.P.S.(continued.) page 2.

it will be seen that the role of a member of a patrol is that of

“Mrs. Sensible”. She has to keep her head & to remember to give that

right kind of help which restores calm, & also to send for

specialised help, when required, but to save [these experts] from being

called out for [trivial] matters.

The arrangement by which she [relies] on the the “good neighbour act”

of certain people who will keep in [touch] with their immediate neighbours

should be of great help & reduce her work, without in any way reducing

the usefulness of the plan. Every one knows how comforting it is to

have a call from a neighbour, in a time of stress, even if only for

a minute or so.

The members of these patrols have been attending lecture to help them
with their work, since December last. A special series was arranged &
Dr. Duncan Cook, Sister Dalgleish, Sister [Heape?], Mr. Edgar, P.N. Fire
Brigade) & Mr. [Day?] given lectures & demonstrations.
They have now begun a course of St. John Ambulance First Aid Lectures.

C.E. Warburton