The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1916. THE HOSPITAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 July 1916, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 20, 1916. THE HOSPITAL.

■ The Hospital Board spent a good deal of time oil Wednesday in discussing tlio n needs of the nursing stall', and adopted 1 the report of the House Committee .0 convert the ohl hospr'.n'i buildings into ~n isolation block and to prepare the i| present buildings used'for isolation casus i 9 for use as extra, accommodation far nurses. We cannot help characterising this as u penny wise and pound foolish i, policy, Members emphasised the :n----cu-ase in the cost of building new •- quarters at present, one member going the length of sayins? it would represent saddling the Board with an rdditionnl JO or HO per cent. c: piial expenditure. 't i= true that building costs more now than before the war. Wages are ten per cent, higher, cement is made in New g' Zealand, and is not a great deal higher, ig The only materials abnormally high in [rice are iron and steel, very little I£ which would be required in a building like a Biirip.i' home. If brick weiv

rseil, tho extra cost would not be much owe thai) in lionnal times In any

case, no reduction in the cost of labor :an be expected after the war, and tho -:nly f-aving that could he ell'ccted by postponing the building of a home would he in inm and steel ami electric il in(tullafion, but the cost of pulling Ihe annexes in order for the accommodation of b'e nurses will hi' many times greater tluin the saving. Anyhow, these annexes are quite unsuitable for the purpose; they are unwholesome and unhealthy, and should only be used as a last resort, and then only temporarily. We cannot understand the Board not taking the bull by the horns and having plans and estimates prepared for a new building before coming to a decision on the matter. Kven if the Board had to find all'the money for the building, it would not hurt the ratepayers, who were never better off than they are now. It would only amount to a few shillings ind:vidually, and no. one cognisant of the conditions under which tho nurses work, and their devotion to duty, would object to pay it. It is, however, satisfactory to know that the Board realises that, after all, the nurses are deserving of some consideration. From the tone Ll the previous meeting one would have thought they had 110 case at all; that, indeed, they had no i-iylit to bring their grievances and needs before the Board and the public; that it would have been more becoming of them to take what a paternal, beneflcient Board thought was for their good, and be thankful! But that is an opinion that will not be subscribed to hy the public, who sympathise with the nurses in their independent and courageous action, knowing how much the success of th; ! ospital is due to their self-abnegations r.nd devoted work. It is no use, in the face of the Medical Superintendent's statement at yesterday's mcetin?, for the Board to say they had not be.'ii Informed before of the nurses' needs. They had Leon on repeated occasions, arri no action had been taken. The nurses then had 110 other course but to go boldly before the Board and ask for their rights. Surely the need for the extra accommodation could have been foreseen at the time the plans of the new hospital were considered. To build a hospital of such a size and with complete appointments without providing for the accommodation of the staff is like building a fine ship without quarters for its officers and crew. The Board should not blame the nurses for asking for their just dues; they should blame themselves for not making provision for (heir convenience and comfort long before now. As for the payment of nurses, all that was said yesterday does not affect the point we made last week--that hospital nurses in Xew Zealand, are, compared witli other nurses and skilled workers, and considering the unearthly hours they have to be on dntv, and the responsible nature of their work, grossly underpaid, and in the case of first year nurios—who cheerfully do the work the ordinary menial would flee from—the rate paid (£l2 a year), is nothing short of scandalous. Surely the w untry can pay them wages in keeping w ; th their skill, experience, and responsibility, without waiting for them to band together as a union and demand what should be conceded them without demur, but with gladness. Because 110 organised attempt is made by them to in'prove their salaries is all the nn..' reason why Hospital Boards should rerognise their worth by proffering adoqua re salaries, and at all times s"e that their conditions are made bright and congenial. Unfortunately, many men, i I era] minded and generous individually. Lc-have collectively as if everything depended upon their driving hard bargains and securing their pound of flesh; short, acting nnsympathetically, and sometimes unjustly, to those under them.