DISABILITIES OF NURSES.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 July 1919, Page 3

DISABILITIES OF NURSES.

POOR PAY AND OVERWORK. BROUGHT BEFORE THE MINISTER. By Telegraph. —Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. The Minister for Public Health was interviewed to-day by members of the Industries Committee in their capacity of Members of Parliament relative to the pay, hours, and general conditions applying ,to nurses in public hospitals in New Zealand. The deputation represented to the Minister that the pay was altogether inadequate for probationers. With the high cost of living, girls could not keep themselves in clothing without considerable help from their people. Members urged that £1 per week be paid for the first year, and that increases be also made in the first and third year. Nurses were receiving £BO to £IOO per year, which was not sufficient. Many of ,the matrons also were not receiving adequate payment. There was no overtime payment, and, owing to the short staffing due to the low pay, they had to work long hours and got no extra pay. The deputation also urged an increase in the holidays for nurses to one month a year, and said it would be an advantage if they were given two days oft each month to save them from overstrain. The question of superannuation was also raised.

The Hon- G. W. Russell, in replying, promised support to any progressive policy submitted to ,the Health Department, He sympathised with the deputation regarding some of the matters it had spoken about. Probationers wero learning a business and could afterwards earn £3 3s per week at private nursing or establish private hospitals in conjunction with doctors. There ought to be superannuation for nurses, but the trouble was that nurses were not Government officers. He was prepared to recommend that steps be taken to give superannuation to women who spent their lives in hospital work, not private nursing. In the meantime, the private fund which had been established by Dr. Lindo Ferguson now amounted to £IO,OOO, and the Government proposed to subsidise every payment from it to the extent of 10s in the £. The idea of one month's leave was a good one, and lie would bring it before the Hospital Conference. If Parliament was prepared to grant the money necessary to raistf the hospital board subsidy to say 25a, they would make ,the condition that the extra 5s was to be diverted to the nurses of tho staff.