HOSPITAL NURSES.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16856, 9 June 1920, Page 7

HOSPITAL NURSES.

TO THE EDITOR OF "TUB PKESS." j Sir, —I am glad that the question has ' been raised of the general conditions of the work of hospital nurses. As one who has had some experience of hospitals in this and other countries

(though not as a nurse) I am constrained to crave your indulgence and a portion of your space. j It is necessary to emphasise that any remarks that follow do not apply par- ; tieularly to the local hospital, but to ■ ' hospitals generally: this, I understand,, • also was the application of Nurie . 3laude's expressions. It seenis to nie j i that in this matter we have long been I imposing, unconsciously, perhaps, on • the generosity of women. Granted that conditions now are better than ; they wero a few years ago, th.y are not yet equitable. i need not expatiate on j the strain, physical and mental, of a j nurse's work—any on e with any perception will realize its severity. Surely, then, a nurse should work tinder material circumstances at as favourable as those of women in other callings ; surely, then, she should have as much rest, as much pay. as good forxl as they, and adequate time for meals. The fact, however, is that seldom are these conditions fulfilled. An average time-table provides i'cr eight-hour I periods of duty, with two half-hours for meals. If this could be adhered to the position would be reasonable, though still. I think, too arduous; but | .in actuality it rarely is. There are no i

! reserves, and if anyone is away 'ill, or j in times of stress, tho eight hours arc • considerably exceeded ; moreover, the j | nurse is hardly over able to leave the I | ward for as long as half an hour for j i meals, though this is admittedly the | i physiological minimum. ; j Thus a nurse frequently has longer j I hours of work than women ~n other ' callings, and inadequate time for meals ; ■ observe also that she does not get her ) week-ends off. nor holidays such as Easj ter and Christmas—the patients must Ibe tended whatever the day. The posi- | tion of theatre staffs is probably the most acute. Again, there is frequently no reserve, and tho day's work may be prolonged to fourteen hours or longer by emergency operations. Regaining pay—a nurse who has not j independent meats is not able to par- ) ticipate in ordinary social amusements ! in her "off duty" hours. Her salary j alone is inadequate to enable her to as- j sociate comfortably with people of her j own status. It is pointed out that i I nurses always look fit and well, and that therefore they must have lived I well. M.ay it not rather bo a case of | survival of the fittest? Certainly it is • indisputable that only robust girls do survive it, and their happy demeanour is born of tho satisfaction of useful service. With regard to the suggestion that commercialisation would abolish the sacrifice and thus remove a valuable lAnfiirn rt P «-» nnrcn'o Tr*r»7*l.- T ciihmif

feature of a nurse's work, I submit, sir, that there would still be ample sacI rificc involved «• t-e e.]irtable conditions [ substituted for the present ones; and I. venture to think that all who know | I anything of the work will agree with !me in this. Will tho Hospital Boards also?— Yours, etc., iESCTJLAPITJS. Christclrurch, June 4th. TO THE EDITOR OF te TFB PRESS.'" Sir, —Allow me, through the medium of jrour valuable paper, to draw at-1 tention to a slight discrepancy in »j statement made by Dr. Fox at a recent meeting of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board in regard to the hours of a nurse's duty in Christohurch Hospital. :Dt. Fox stated that tho hours worked j by nurses were as follows:—Horning j i 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., afternoon 2 p.m. to. i 10 p.m., and night 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. | I Those are a nurse's hours of duty ofliI cially, but as a nurse is never allowed i I to go off duty till certain duties havo j ! been completed, and as it is physically j ! impossible for her to perform all those j J duties within eight hours, all the shifts j ; overlap more or less. A morning nurse j ; goes on duty at 5.40 a.m. She does not | i enter the ward till 6 a.m., but there is! plenty of work, such as setting breaki fast trays, etc., to keep her occupied! | till G o'clock. Then she never gets off I duty at 2 p.m. sharp. It is much j J oftener 3.30 p.m. before she is finished. Even if her work in tho ward is finish-! Ed at 2 p.m. she is not free to go off i duty, as thero is always n pile of wash-' ing to be done. All soiled sheets and nightclothes must be washed by the nurses before they are sent to tho laun- j dry., and many a tired probationer, with |

aching back and blistered feet, finds; two hours' , washing awaiting her be-: fore she is free. Then, afternoon: nurses go on duty at 1.40 p.m., not 2j I p.m., as stated by Dr. Fox, and it is | j always 10.30 to 11 p.m. bsfore tlicv are j ■ finished up for the night. You will see, | therefore, that day nurses work nearer! ten hours a day than eight. When the j weekly change'of duty comes round, m j nurse frequently comes off duty at 11 j p.m. and goes on again at o.iO a.m. Night nurses go on' duty at 9.40 p.m., not 10 p.m., and often "are so busy all night that they have scarcely time to ■ eat a meal. After twelve to ■ fifteen months of this strenuous existence, a nurso is given a magnificent three ■ weeks' holiday. Dr. Fox tells us that J nurses build up amazingly in physical j condition after" a few mouths in training. In a few cases this is so, but he forgets to.tell us of tho dozens who can- ! | not stand the physical strain, and have j j to give up training, or others who battle I on against ill-health, and emerge at j the end of their training prematurely aged women. Let Dr. Fox make a close enquiry into the working of Christ- ■ church Hospital, and ho will find that | ray statements are absolutely correct. I say that nurses should have more pay, j but, above all, niOTe holidays.—Yours, I C ' NURSE.