PAY FOR NURSES.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 January 1920, Page 4

PAY FOR NURSES.

SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES MADE. ' TARANAKI BOARD'S ACTION. LEAD FOR THE DOMINION. For some considerable time past the Taranaki Hospital Board has been desirous of readjusting the salaries of the Hospital nursing staff with a view to placing the nurses on a more satisfactory footing. Some members of the Board have advocated increases in these salaries, irrespective of the rates paid, by other boards. At the same time there has been a strong feeling that there should be a uniform scale throughout the Dominion, so that there would be no special inducement for nurses having received their training to seek employment with the boards which paid higher salaries than the one under which their training was secured. In view of this desire, the Taranaki Board urged the Public Health Department to convene a conference of Hospital Boards for the purpose of discussing this matter and others relating to Hospital control. All the other boards were circularised, and nearly all agreed with the proposal for a conference. The Department acquiesced ia the matter, but tha date of the conference was delayed on account of the fact that the InspectorGeneral of Hospitals (Dr. H. T. A- Valintine) was leaving New Zealand on a tour which would occupy some months, and as he was certain to gather information of a very valuable nature during his visit abroad, it was deemed advisable to delay calling the Board's representatives together until hia return, so that the benefit of his trip might be placed at the disposal of the controlling authorities. _ Dr. Valintine is expected back in the Dominion in the near future, and the con-/ ference has been fixed to meet in Wellington on March 'ZSid next. In the meantime, however, the Department issued a circular giving a scale of salaries, which it suggested should be paid, according to the varying accommodation of different hospitals. It was found that in some the rate paid at New Plymouth was already above the suggested scale, especially ia respect to the younger and less experienced nurses, while some of the more experienced nurses were securing less than th ®, rat « suggested by the department. The Taranaki board, however, felt that they could not delay the question of nurses' salaries any . longer, and at last Wednesday's meeting a committee was set up to confer with the medical staff on the question, and with power to act. Urn committee met yesterday and the result was an increase in the salaries or a number of the nurses, involving a sum of over £3OO per annum. The following table will show the scale proposed by the Department for nurses in their different years, and the rate agreed to be paid by the Taranaki Board:— Dept. Scale N.P. Scale PrnW (1 1 50 ; 300 bedi >) (ISO beds) Probationer—lst year .. £25 £24 2nd year .. 35 3fl 3rd year .. 45 48 Registered Staff Nurses (4th year passed State E*?"!-) ... 75-90 80 Ward Sister ~.,100-120 100 J heatre Sister .. r .-.- UO-120 HO ? ister >•' 110 -1 20 HO bub-Matron .. ... HO-I'4o 120 The rates have been agreed upon bv the committee, pending the conference of Boards in March, when the matter Will I be dealt with on a Dominion basis, and whatever the scale adopted by the con{orenee, the local board will fall into linrf ; with it. The increases are to be retrospective to January