TRAINING OF NURSES

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 990, 5 June 1930, Page 10

TRAINING OF NURSES

WORK IN PRIVATE HOSPITALS ASSOCIATION’S OPPOSITION From Our Resident Reporter WELLINGTON, Today. ? The Bill introduced, but not | ceeded with, last session, to a . the Nurses* Registration Act, was tfcsubject brought forward yesterday t y a deputation to the Minister c . f Health, the Hon. A. J. Stallworthr from the Xew Zealand Trained Nurses* Association. The deputation j that the Bill should not be Introduced again during the coming session. Introducing the deputation. Dr. J. g ; Elliott said that the Bill as drafted would make radical changes in the registration of nurses, and would affect the reciprocity which the pro . fession enjoyed with Great Britain. The nurses of Xew Zeal nd had had a long struggle to get State registration. and to raise the standard of theiprofession, and they would be deep'v j distressed if anything were done wfaic- : would prejudice their status.

Miss I. C. Inglis, genera] secretarv of the association, said that an innovation such as the training of nurses in private hospitals would be detrimeo. tal to the status of the profession, a questionnaire had been submitted to the trained nurses. Some 500 in number had replied opposing the protE sion in the Bill. EXTENSION OF TRAINING SCHOOLS The Minister said that the question of the extension of the training institutions of nurses was first brought under his notice by a number of members of the medical profession in Auckland. Since then similar representations had been made in other parts of the Dominion. It had been urged that there was no intention to lower the status of the profession or the standard of training. At present there were some small general hospitals which were accepted as training schools, and these institutions were in respect to numbers of beds and scope of training below the standard of half a dozen of the largest private hospitals. What was aske< was that these private hospitals, if they complied with all the requirements of the Nurses’ and Midwives’ Registration Board, should be competent to be accepted on their merits as approved training schools. He would not agree to any change which would mean the withdrawal o! reciprocity with Great Britain, nor to a change which would mean the lowering of the status and standard of the nursing profession or of the State examination. The Minister added that the Bill had not yet been considered by Cabinet, so he was not in a position to sa r whether or not any Bill would be introduced in the coming session. promised if it was intended to brins down such a measure, even in an amended form, that a copy of the Bill would be submitted to the Trained Xurses’ Association for its consideration.

WANT BILL PASSED PRIVATE HOSPITALS’ VIEWS From Our Resident Reporter WELLINGTON, Today. A deputation representing the largest private hospitals in Auckland. Wellington and Christchurch, waited on the Minister of Health yesterday to ask that the Nurses’ Registration Bill, introduced last session, be proceeded with during the coming session. The deputation claimed that these hospitals would cheerfully comply with the fullest requirements regarding conditions of work and scope of training, standard of examination and State registration of nurses. The Minister replied that until the question of legislation had been considered by Cabinet he was not in a position to state what would be done this session.