SWEATING OF NURSES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1491, 13 July 1912, Page 6

SWEATING OF NURSES.

■ Sir,—One of the first duties of ■ the new, Government should be. to inquire into the /conditions oi' the nurses at St.. Helen's Maternity Hospital, Wellington. At.the official opening of. the■' now building in CoromanueT Sheet last week, Ministers of the late Government, addressing'the many hundreds of the-public assembled, paid the''usual.compliments -to themselves for their' -"humanitarian" . legislation, ■. eto. One Minister ■ was . greatly impressed by tho. small average cost incurred by "the State for.each- baby born there.. But of tho inner .workings of tho institution showing.how the cost was kept down,'.be was.silont. . '' i He did not' tell ■them,'that the nurses Te'ceive no salary whatever,for their eer.vices, • but have ■_ actually to- pay ■ the :"Deipartment a premium each.:, .Ho.did not tell them, that the polishing of , , ward floors, cleaning of 'windows, and' "washing up" after panerits , meals— general servants work, and not coniecbed with the nursing ,at all—is all. done \< by the nurses, instead of by paid maids. Hβ did not tell them, that stiidy, which is of such.paramount importance to the nurse at A her examination, ■ is scarcely taken, into consideration by the Department, whose motto is— Work, ■ work, work, :and more work;" : ' ' ■■-..•" • He did. not tell them,• that the Departnierit, in the .fulfilment of its polioy of v the sweating'of nurses,.sends them , at euch a pace that frequently they have no energy, to apply themselves to .their studies'whon off duty. . " ' ' ;-Jn, verification of these statements,'! Tefer .you to the pass list' for midwivce published rocently in the daily press. In this list appear the. names of only three nurses from this hospital. Two'of them just squeezed in at the bottom of the list, while a third—a little higher upHiaving finished her term at the hospital somo time prior to the examination, -was able/to devote a period solely to study. It would bo interesting to know thp-marks obtained by tho' nurses who failod. Now, it cannot be arjued that tho nurses, at St. Helen's are deficient cither in physical strength or ability. 'To make a fairly decent pass under the present slave-driving conditions existing there, a nurse would require to possess these endowments in a degree far above the average; Why should.a nurse who has p'aid a' premium and' receiving no w.y, be forced to work more than eight hours a day? Sir, .thero nre two reforms urgently required at-this hospital. .First; nn eighthour'jlhy. for the nurses, which would allow them a reasonable time oft" for study and a little change of , air. Second, the_ engaging of a wnrd's maid, thereby relieving tho nurses of the polishing and window-cleanin?, which is not connected with nursing nt all. As it is, there is (jnito'a.lot of washine and cleaninp incident to the enk> of the patient, but no nurse objects to this; but what nhe does object to, nnd quit* rightly, too, is, after paying ft premium and receiving no wa?e, shn should be tMd to" further, add to tho coffers of tho Department by saving it the eiMnse of ensuring a general servant. Sir, is this right? Is it fair? ■ Another condition, requirine immedinte attention is thn handling, without gloves, of the "contagions diseases" cases. Indiarubber should certninlv bo supi>lied to engaged with these «i?ps. The nurse has n right to expect tlie authoririfl.l to rigidly protect Tier from contracting Hipwisc from n patient. T ?peak with .a knowW?e of the conditions that have prevailed nt Hii= hospital from time to time, nnd ndvf.'e the Peparhnent not to procrastinate with the oarrjifls out oi th«» refocna, (oi; delay.

in eo doing vrill force me to lot in moro light on the glaring improprieties that luu-e occurred at this institution resultant solely from tho culpable meanness of tho Department. I also wish to say that if any attempt is mado t%. contradict these statement, I shall have more to sny on tho subject. I havo an intimate knowledge of tho workings of this hospital, gained .from a great, many sources, and have, as every nurse knows—but for -various reasons dare not say —only touched the'fringe of the "unsatisfactory conditions under which she works. However, all I ask. of the authorities are three .-moderate reforms: An eight-hour day, a ward's mnid, indiarubber gloves. By their immediate attention bo theso they will be spared the pain of seeing moro light let in.—l am, etc., VERITAS. Wellington, July 10, 1912. ■ V ' — ——— ■■• "TAPU TE RANGA, , ' OR THE ISLAND IN ISLAND BAY.- ". Sir,—l noticed in last Wednesday's Dominion a letter from a gentleman signing himself "An Old Councillor,", re tho above. Is it generally known in Wellington that this island was.formorly the site of a Maori pa, from which it gets , the name of Tapu te ranga; and which I am credibly informed signified "a very strong ■tapu, oiie that could not be uplifted." The_passago between the western side of .the island and the mainland was named "Pai kawakawa"—profuse perspiration; ■referring possibly to the extreme exertion necessary to paddle a canoe seawards against a stiff southerly. .Unfortunatelj', the tapun was uplifted ia'lß2l or 1822 the pa was taken by a war party that had come down from hs far north as the Tamaki Peninsula. These consisted chiefly of Ngati-Whatua braves under TeKawau (Tho Shag), in the expedition known as "Amio-whenua," or round about the land, :from the fact that they were.nine months away from their homes in the- north. The people-on the island belonged to the Ngati-Ira tribe, who were : afterwards driven out by the Wellington Natives (Kαhungunu), to join the Ngai-tahu, NgatiMamofi, and other tribes in the South Island (Sounds district). Te Kawau was an appropriate name, for he gobbled up most people he came-across. Leaving Island Bay, he and his men went along tEe Terawhiti coast, but finding deserted pas in most cases, for his coming had been heard of, and the inhabitants taken to the hilla and fastnesses, which at that time were all covered with bush. • After various adventures in.Whanganui a.nd. TaranakH districts,. and meeting occasionally: with reverses, for their progress was not undisputed, the expedition reached their home agiiin in the north, after an absence of about nine months. The. number of the party has been estimated at between 600' and 700 warriors. As it is stated ■' that tho island is a public, domain under the . jurisdiction of the City Council, who have taken-it over from the old Melroso'Borough Council, it would perhaps .be putting this- : little spot to the best possible use to construct a Maori pa on it, which would bo a great attraction'for Island Bay, which Hias-needed . some attraction very much since the famous Hermit left ife peaceful shores! At anyrate, if the council would grant'tho , necessary ■permission, here,is a unique opportunity to con--struct. a fortified island pa where it might ,be seen by visitors to Wellington under ■natural conditions, and not under a glas3 case. —I am, etc, TOTJNG NEW ZEALAND.