OVERWORKED NURSES.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 319, 30 October 1915, Page 4

OVERWORKED NURSES.

One of the 69 nurses who left New Zealand for active service by the Maheno, writing from Alexandria to friends in Auckland, says:—

"We arrived at Suez on August 16, stayed there the night, and left by trr.in next morning for Alexandria, arriving here at 3 p.m. We began breaking the monotony of the desert by passling' several colonial camps. How they cheered us! I can assure you it made

s glad we were going to do our little

bit. The boys had been doing nothing, and were in the pink of condition —so beautifully brown. And their horses, which had been on hard feed, were as fat and fresh as two-year-olds." The writer describes the arrival at Alexandria railway station, where they were met by Sister Reynolds, a nurse trained in the Auckland Hospital, who, by the direction of the matron in charge of No. 17 Hospital, had been deputed to select four of the new arrifor that institution.

"After out long 'laze,' f ' the letter

proceeds, "we almost dreaded going on duty. The first words we were greeted with were. 'Thank goodness you have come at lastf They had been having an awful time. Only two days previously some thousands of wounded had arrived from Gallipoli, and they didn't know .where to put them. AIT around the grounds of the hospital there are huge tents, containing as many as 40 men. These poor creatures, in many eases, had to remain for davs on shake-downs, and tale their turns. The girls say wo don't know what we missed. We go hard the whole day, doing nothing but dressings. The orderlies attend to all meals, sweep the wards, and work round generally. It was with great *>v we heard of the good name the Austrian and New Zealand nurses had earned We got a fair amount of time off duty, but it is all spent in resting There were days when we used simplyto crawl to our beds, almost too tired to undrew and If our absence had not been noticeable we would have dodged our meals on more than one occasion.. Our poor feet swell, our legs ache and we don't feel worth twopence; m fact, there were days when we thought we would have to tell the matron we possibly could not go on any longer. But the other girls cheered us up by saying we would soon get used to everything; and so we are, tat J«jr P* nllv This month is considered to beihemost trying one of the year, £ naturally we are poking forward to next month. There is such a heap to Tdone that I always wish I had about a dozen hands and as many feet Even when the day's duty is finished you kel so done so hnmedly, and mains so nraeh to cio * rn.rs.Bg of '"■ s tO . ThoWhßt , We «„e of a hospital is right ook usual routine ot « of it."