Matron

In the United States a matron is not a nurse, but a female assistant to males running a residential facility, like a camp, boarding school, or prison (see Other uses, below).

The title of matron was first used in the 16th century in the United Kingdom (UK) for the housekeeper role in voluntary hospitals.

[9][10] The term Lady Superintendent was used in some hospitals in the late nineteenth century and the position was noted as one with great authority and responsibility.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) published a review of the administrative arrangements for nursing in the NHS, arguing that the traditional role of matron was outdated, untenable in the range of duties, inadequately remunerated and increasingly difficult to recruit to.

[10] The report's main recommendations on the structure of nursing administration, the change of name from matron to chief nursing officer, the simplified grading structure, and systematic preparation for management responsibility were accepted by the Minister of Health Kenneth Robinson and William Ross, Secretary of State for Scotland.

[13] Hospital matrons promoted nurses and nursing through the media of radio, newspapers and books e.g. Gwendoline Kirby, matron of Great Ormond Street Hospital, London was a guest on Desert island Discs,[20] Muriel Powell, matron of St George's Hospital London featured in the Star London newspaper in 1958 and spoke regularly on BBC radio and television programmes.

The matron usually had a very distinctive uniform, with a dark blue dress (although often of a slightly different colour from those worn by her direct subordinates, the sisters) and an elaborate headdress.

In 2001 the UK Government announced the return of the matron to NHS hospitals in England, electing to call this new breed of nurses "modern matrons," in response to various press complaints of dirty, ineffective hospitals with poorly disciplined staff.

Their managerial powers are more limited, and they spend most of their time on administrative work rather than having direct responsibility for patient care.

This staff group are predominantly nurses, but there are other allied health professionals also in the role such as paramedics and occupational therapists.

The nursing branches of the British Armed Forces have never abandoned the term "Matron", and it is used for male as well as female officers, usually holding the rank of major (or equivalent) or above.

They were licensed by the Department of Health until 1943, and the ordinance that required their hiring and selection was formally repealed by the city in 1995.