NURSING CINDERELLA

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 36, 11 October 1946, Page 5

NURSING CINDERELLA

PROBLEM OF MATERNITY TRAINING -DIRECTOR’S LETTER The great problem of staffing maternity hospitals through New Zealand at the present time was further amplified by the Director of Maternal Welfare in a letter to the Whakatane Hospital Board at its October meeting yesterday, when emphasis p was laid upon the need for better accommodation for maternity nurses by the Boards concerned. The profession was described by Mrs Gordon as the nursing ‘Cinderella’ of all services. Following an inspection of the 'Whakatane Annexe, Mrs Gordon ; stated that she found conditions very -satisfactory and considered the situation of the nursery one of the best arrangements she had seen in that it avoided the long carriage of infants to their mothers. The corridors and wards should however be covered with either heavy lino or rubber to minimise dust, and to ease the strain upon the nurses’ feet and to lessen noise. Problem Universal The staff problem was universal but the writer would have no apprehension for the clinical returns of the Whakatane annexe if it was necessary to work with only two midwives in the meantime. As the existing trainees were all registered .nurses and a doctor was always in residence at the hospital, she could not see efficiency suffering if between now and January work was continued with a slightly lessened -staff. This after all was what most maternity hospitals were doing this year. The real major difficulty lay in the staff quarters which were provided in Whakatane for maternity trainees and permanent midwives. Until the Board provided modern living conditions, for these nurses it was likely to have trouble. Mrs Gordon stated that she made the observation being fully aware that the Board in common with others, had its financial problems, hut if Hospital Boards in New Zealand persisted in making maternity ' nursing the ‘Cinderella’ of all their services, then the community, the electors and the Board had only themselves to blame if - there was -an insufficiency of nurses to administer this very essential national work. Maternity nursing was most ■exacting work and the only solution was to give its nurses the best living and working conditions of all. At present they seemed to have the worst. Very Fajr Opinion “I think the Director has treated the matter very fairly,” said the • chairman, Mr J. Mullins. “We realise the need for better accommodation and the letter gives us a lever when we consider plans and specifications of the proposed new quarters.” Mr McGougan praised the letter for its fairness and frankness. He had always contended that the nursing profession had been neglected for years. Nurses worked hard and deserved much more than they received. At the same time he realised that all small boards would be faced with a real problem in meeting these desserts. Male Nurses Suggested Mr McCready said the Board had failed to approach the problem from the correct angle. Why not, he asked, train more male nurses, by offering decent wages. What was the position with most nurses? At considerable expense to their parents and very often the Boards they were trained up to a certain standard and then broke away to marry. It was the natural course of life and could not be combatted. If however, men who desired to assist could be trained and paid accordingly, they would probably keep the job for life.

Maori Trainees

He mentioned also the question of Maori nurses. Why, did nor the Board capitalise the reservoir of young Maori girls in this district and train them to be useful in their -own communities and to nurse their own people in hospital. The better class of Maori girl had proved an efficient nurse when trained and he could not understand the apparent reticence to train them in Whakatane. Many of the permanent nursing problems would be overcome if hand-picked Maori trainees were given a chance.