Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, DECEMBER, 13, 1918. COUNTY HOSPITAL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIX, Issue 9476, 13 December 1918, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, DECEMBER, 13, 1918. COUNTY HOSPITAL.

More than usual interest will be taken by County residents in the next meeting of the Ashburton Hospital Board, mainly because—as one result of . the recent, epidemic — more than usual interest is being taken, in hospital matters- generally. This greater • interest was partly inspired by the firsthand knowledge of conditions' at jLhe County Hospitalsacquired by, voluntary workers there during the recent cain^ paign. .Some of these volunteers were surprised-, at the amount of work necessary to keep the institution at its customary standard of efficiency, a surprise • that became a shock when they learned what remu-

neration was given the stall, for their .services; The letter wo published yesterday, signed by "Casua]" gave 'expression 'to a i'eeliiig oi: ;)nxiety ? common today in Ashburton, thai all is not as. it should be. There is not the least idea to rage furiously together against the Board, but rather, the desire is to cooperate with the Board, and to support the members in. any policy devised to remove wrongs or inconveniences that may exist. "Casual" raised some pertinent enquiries,, which, we think, the Board should answer officially j as far as possible. Most of "Casual's" enquiries referred to matters of administration easily adjustable; and his suggestion in favour rif the installation of labour-saving appliances would, if adopted, solve nmch of the domestic service problem, about which- the chairman of the Board has previously complained. The wages question is most important. It is stated—to give a specific instance. —that one of the Board's nursing stair', in her fourth year of service, gets but. £30 as her annual salary. This is a remuneration, the average messageboy just from school would scorn. The iiurse, of course, has her board and residence pi'ovided, but this cannot, under the circumstances, cost the Board very much. Her hours, of worjv greatly exceed those of the' ex-schoolboy, and the value of the respective duties cannot be seriously compared. How can a nurse provide for herself and her future—even if she has no others to think of—on 11s 6d weekly. Any woman solving so great a financial, problem satisfactorily should be elected to the' Board,-.' as her experience of economical administration would be invaluable. During the re-' cent epidemic, surprise was^exr pressed at the difficulty of finding women with nursing expe-r rience. Those who knoAV anything of the pay and duties of most hospital staffs did not share this wonder; nursing isa profession which is too often too •literally a labour, of love. Doctors . are not expected to be satisfied with meagre remuneration; why should matrons, nurses,, probationers, etc., etc., be "sweated" P Eor "sweating" it frequently is. The County Hospital whilst being the means of restoring health to outsiders should not be permitted to be the cause of . future physical wreckage of the insiders. Not the least creditable fact of the present "agitation" is that the members of the hospital staff have raised no complaints; it is the voluntary workers and others who are responsible for the demand for redress. What k^sthe Board +0 say ? • .