Euphemia Steele Innes | |
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Euphemia Steele Innes, c. 1916 | |
Born | Panbride, Angus, Scotland | 26 February 1874
Died | 9 May 1955 Newington, Edinburgh, Scotland | (aged 81)
Years active | 1897 – c. 1938 |
Known for | Founder of Leeds Nurses' League |
Medical career | |
Profession | Nurse |
Institutions | Territorial Force Nursing Service Leeds General Infirmary 2nd Northern General Hospital Queen Alexandra's Army Nursing Board |
Awards | Royal Red Cross |
Signature | |
Euphemia Steele Innes RRC DN (26 February 1874 – 9 May 1955) was a Scottish nurse who served for 21 years as matron at Leeds General Infirmary in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. She was decorated with the Royal Red Cross 1st class in 1916 for services with the Territorial Force Nursing Service in the First World War.
Innes was the daughter of a Free Church of Scotland minister. She trained at Leeds University, and worked as nursing sister, assistant matron and then matron, mainly in Leeds General Infirmary (LGI). She was already matron at the LGI when she was awarded Leeds University's first Diploma in Nursing (DN) in 1921, just before the university began its official diploma examinations for nurses.
During the First World War, Innes was principal matron at the 2nd Northern General Hospital, based at Beckett Park, Leeds. The position included responsibility for the staffing of all the Leeds hospitals which had been taken over by the War Office.
Innes founded the Leeds Infirmary Nurses' League, and oversaw its affiliation with the National Council of Trained Nurses of Great Britain and Ireland. She was a board member of Queen Alexandra's Army Nursing Board, besides being a member of various other nursing institutions.