The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1914. HOSPITAL NURSING STAFFS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1963, 21 January 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1914. HOSPITAL NURSING STAFFS.

I Sojie very important questions are j raised in a circular relative to the 1 payment of nurses which has been i sent out by Dr. Valintine (Inspec- i tor-General of Hospitals) to the i various Hospital Boards throughout 1 the Dominion. The full toxfc of the I communication will be found in our c news columns. Thcr Inspector- s General explains that inquiries have c brought to light the fact that there \ is diversity of pay for similar posi- J tions on the nursing staffs of dif- (: ferent hospitals, and states that it t has been suggested that tlw Depart- n incut should draw up a fixed scale of V payments for nurses on hospital y staffs, which could be adopted by 1 Hospital Boards, and rivalry and i unrest among nurses thereby be s avoided. After touching briefly upon s various factors that have to be taken h into account, Dk. Valistjne expresses the opinion that it would not be possible to establish a uniform 1 scale of payment to the nursing ■ staffs of hospitals unless all were * under one control, and promotion could be made from one position to f another. Even then, he adds, when 13 no vacancies occur in the higher posi- ll tions, length of good service . would si necessitate disorganising the system! ti Members of the local Hospital Board, si when the.v. tentatively discussed the g Inspector-General's suggestions ",'yes- a terday, seemed for the. most part to ti be under the impression that their a adoption would involve some ckfinito tl step towards morn wataalised aoa- r,:

trol of n strained Inspector-General- hasiXd.wieetfsi'Hi£ cimilnr tioii,.:c^i)ocial.]y.ia3;:! , siblc ■ neff:excrciscci;jjy?: i Hqsiii!:alJ. )S ?Boanl|.J would ho '.'doubt he'-'possiblg-jfoi-'pi'qj vide standard much as" is ,now;!doiie';inf Uve:y;a.se:/of, school toachcrs.w>ThciOnly' ; tssential; difference/:" Generni's proposn]s:i's' : thh£'ilMrpo>vei\i of. promoting nurscs/pivof' ring. them, from one' district;origin-: stitution to another' would : bo"vested: in a central of this kind was foreshadowed , , last year by the Minister' itiSCharg<3of. Hospitih (Mn. spoke at tho official opening'-'offthe purses' Residential.. Club ; w in.. this city. On that occasion-Mkiv Rhodes said that he would Jike, to'"arrange matters, so that' competent in our public hospitals could■-. bo brought under'" some'.-schemefe-that would provide promotion!' The lack o! some such * system ■■■isV-;". to his mind, one of .t-ho"'chief-drawbacks to aurses -in our publicunstitutions.' He went on to say :.f>"Wiy.:Jf.-''';..■' i ' v .

"When a iiursp has fiiiishcd. her..course in a hospital, and 'qualifies by ,, examine-., tiou, there are hro courses, open '.to her— eithef to remain on. the. permanent.staff oi the. hospital of embark-on , private nursing. Unfortunately, , even-far tho Wos',, competent nurses, there is not aU ?y-'ys room in a hospital for a position on £h.e netmnnsnt etaif; hut,"if Hospital .Boai'ils \roultl only combine,' it'might be possible to provide every competent mirso «'ith a position on ! thfi... permnnent :-■ staff of one or othsr of ous- publip'-hospitals. I know of Severn! excellent nurses whose. Services have been lost to oar public , hos-. pitnls from lack of opportunity fo show their abilities, ami ■I. hope. during my tenure of offieii to'.do , more , than « littls to rectify what.l consider one of the ■■ chief weaknesses of tho present system." ~ /:■:

Reading the proposals now'put'Jorwanl by the Inspector-General, in conjunction with ■ .the--' . Minister's statement, it would appear that nothing more is' suggested >„•< than ■■ the establishment of a. uniform' staffing system, with the object, of benefiting the boards, (by inducing competent nurses to remain in their , service) and also the nurses themselves, by extending the scope of. promotion. The local Hospital Board has adopted a judicious course, iii referring the Inspector-General's' proposals to its Finance and Property Committee, so that they may be subjected to detailed examination. Obviously the matter is one which calls for dispassionate discussion by the various hospital authorities.' There is at least a possibility of some workable scheme being devised which would make the nursing profession more attractive and hold out more liberal inducements than are. now. offered to its members to remain in the service of the public hospitals in which they receive their training.. That these arc objects worth striving for will be admitted without question, for it is universally recognised that nurses as a class deserve every possible consideration at the hands' of the community. On the occasion to which we have already referred, Mii. Rhodes paid a warm tribute to the members of the nursing profession, aiid said that he knew well, from what he learned from the reports of his Dpisartment, of the splendid service rendered by district and other nurses, that the profession was still actuated by the noble instincts which in the past had encouraged its members to face- the difficulties and dangers of flood and field. The Inspector-General's proposal opens up a possibility of improving the professional- prospects of nurses to some extent without involving any great additional outlay by the Hospital Boards. This is a consideration which will no doubt appeal to. these bodies, for the increasing cost of hospital administration . has lately caused a good deal of concern. The necessity of effecting economics where it can be done without injury to efficiency is recognised, but this consideration should not be allowed to interfere with the progressive improvement of the working conditions and prospects of the members of tho. nursing profession. Indeed it would appear to the layman that there pan be no better guarantee of economical administration in the hospitals than to encourage efficiency in the members of the nursing staffs by granting them adequate remuneration and holding out prospects of professional advancement. It is satisfactory to know that'thc salaries paid to nurses in the local Hospital compare favourably with those paid in similar .institutions, not only in the Dominion, but throughout Australasia. Prom the purely commercial standpoint it is improbable that service in the public hospitals will ever compare with private nursing practice, but the women who devote- themselves to.the care of the sick and the alleviation of suffering are not. swayed only by considerations of material gain. Probably some of those wlio now leave tne public hospitals would be content- to remain if. the prospects of promotion were not so poor. This in Hself warrants the careful con- ■ sideration of the Inspector-General's proposals. Reasonable standards of remuneration must, of course, bo maintained in any case, and here the competition of private practice provides a useful cheek to which the boards, apart from considerations of equity, are bound to give heed in the | interests of efficiency. Salaries, however, are not the splc consideration. Nurses, like other . skilled professional workers, have a right to expect a career in which experience and ability will gain the consideration to which their possessors are ' justly entitled. ■ The grouping of hospital staffs under a single control would make a career of this kind much more, easily attainable than it is at present, and nurses and the hospitals would., no doubt equally benefit by the change from existing conditions. Another matter which should not be allowed to drop out of sight is that of making some pro-; vision for nurses in their' declining years. In the speech from which we have quoted, Mn. Rhodes remarked that he was quite, in sympathy with a scheme that would allow nurses to retire on pensions after a term "of | years at public or private",nursing. I Tho wear and tear of nursing was | ind«d great, he said, and a nurse should be able to look forward to a small competence that would assist her in her declining years. : if '.