MATERNITY TRAINING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26619, 15 November 1947, Page 8

MATERNITY TRAINING

MORE VIGOROUS POLICY REQUIRED VIEWS OF DR NORTH Allegations that not once during the past year had any member of the Hospital Board visited the Queen Mary Hospital and discussed difficulties with the matron and staff, and that, although it was proposed to build a temporary maternity hospital at Marinoto, it would not be ready until long after the impending crisis in the matter of maternity accommodation, were made by Dr N. H. North at an election meeting at Caversham last night. Dr North said that the requirement for the efficient running of the Queen Mary Hospital were a matron, submatron, seven sisters (who must be mid wives), two staff nurses, and 12 maternity nurses. At present there were a matron, five sisters, one staff nurse, and two maternity nurses. It was obvious that, with such a staff, there could not be sufficient hours of rest. The matron had not had a complete day off duty since she took up her duties in ’January. Dr 'North said that in other centres there were organisations and guilds of women who offered their services for several hours daily to assist in hospitals and that there were many exsisters and nurses, now married, who would step forward during the next difficult months to help. If elected, he would ask that women’s organisations call a meeting without delay in order to formulate a plan. He would also demand that it be a policy of the board to promote the training of midwives and maternity nurses and that every effort be made to make their lives more attractive in all respects. “If the boards throughout New Zealand decided unanimously on this policy the Health Department would be forced to pursue more vigorously the training v of midwives and maternity nurses,’’ said Dr North. He added, in conclusion, that he felt that he and his fellow Citizens’ candidates ior office, after years of post-graduate hospital training, were much better fitted than “those young men on the Red Ticket who have little, and, in some cases no, post-graduate training.”