IN NIGHTIES!

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 97, 27 April 1938, Page 11

IN NIGHTIES!

MEN PATIENTS.

HOSPITAL FARCE. "SIGHT FOR SORE EYES." laundry is inadequate. Six foot two of manhood stretched out in a hospital cot —in a nightdress! Not even a pink one with lace, but a snowy white affair, with square neck cut on mid-\ ictorian lines, and, worse still, long sleeves! '"ie* we have no pyjamas" is the sad °a *°. me of t ' le mell patients at the Auckland Hospital. However, the intriguing sight certainly brightens up infn ♦fc rd l- aild L 7 illgS 3 litUe hu '«»»r into the lives of nurses and orderlies, i.? t T" V ! lot , "of tllo6e patients clad in the drab sleeping garments of conventional man. As one smiling orderly confessed, "It is a sight for sore eyes/' it all came about through difficulties over the washing of the soiled linen at the hospital laundry. The chairman, the Ke\. VY. (. Wood, informed the hospital board yesterday that it had been reported to him that the men had to sleep in women's nightdresses because they could not get their pyjamas laundered. The chairman added that the conditions at the hospital laundry were chaotic, and complained of political interference following a decision of the board to hand over the hospital wasliinoto a commercial firm. °

Condition of Chaos. <( Chaotic they certainly appeared to a "Star" reporter who ventured into the steamy atmosphere of the laundry this morning. The inadequacy of the "building and plant to eope with the soiled linen of such a huge institution was immediately apparent. Floor space is at a premium. If more plant were purchased it is difficult to see where it could be placed. This applies also to the staff. Girls are literally walking over each other in the congestion of the various departments. Yet always the piles of linen, blankets, towels, uniforms, overalls—and nightgowns—pour in. not only on trolleys, but by the lorry load. The discussion at yesterday's meeting of the board arose in consequence of Mrs. M. M. Dreaver moving to rescind the decision the board made to place the washing in a private firm. The chairman said that the matter was a domestic me, and they were much concerned with the situation at the hospital. If a private firm did the work for a couple of years it would give the board breathing time. Mr. W. G. Mulliolland congratulated the chairman on speaking so freely, and said that there was more in it than appeared on the surface. Political Influence. Mr. G. T. Parvin said that he had been surprised to hear that political influence had been brought to bear after the board had made a decision. Mrs. A. ft. Anderton questioned whether the board had explored every avenue to remedy the matter. Mrs. Dreaver denied that it had been made a political matter, and pointed out that they did not give control of any other hospital department to private enterprise. >ilf , ' The rescinding resolution was defeated when the vote was taken.