THE CARE OF OUR WOODED.

Press, Volume LII, Issue 15707, 28 September 1916, Page 8

THE CARE OF OUR WOODED.

>'EW ZEALAND NITRSES. ON SERVICE ABROAD. 4 HOW 'I'llFA' ARE DISTRIBUTED. (PHEB3 ASSOCIATION TELEQEAII.) "WELL IXG TON, September 27. The Minister of Public Health lag received from the Deputy-Director of Medical Services -with tho New Zealand Expeditionary Forces a memorandumaj to the location of tho nurses of tip Now Zealand army nursing service as at August 10th. 1010. Tho distribution of nurses was as under:— N.Z. Gri'cni] Hospital, No. i t .. ..33 N.Z. General Hospital, >,"0. 2, W.-vltoii-on-Thames ..30 N.Z. No. 1 Stationary Hospital, i'"rar.co .. .. ..07 Aoki Convalescent Home. Eeliopolis .. .. .. 3 Hospital Ship Haheno .. .. I< Hospital Ship Itur.itna. .. ;. 20 •Sick in Encrland .. .. 1 Returned to Nvw Zealand on duty Oft , Returned to Nov.' ZoaJand sick H Awaiting chit}' iu England .. * 8 Total nnder Norr Zealand command .. .. .. 201 British Hospitals in Ejjypi 49 British hospital (Jiipg .. .. 5.3 British hoepital trains in Egypt.; 3 British 'hospitals in England .. 5 Total under British command.. 108 Nurses died .. 11 Location unknown .. 34 Grand'total .. .. SS7 Tho total number of New Zealand nurses now available in England is 8, while tho number required is 54.. A staff has not yet been appointed to tho New Zealand Hospital No. 3, Codford (350 beds), but tho full staff will number 14; also, at tho New Zealand Convalescent Hospital. Hornchurch (1010 beds), no appointments havo yet been made, but tho full staff will bo 12.

"It is proposed." states tho memo-' randuni, "to iil|- tho existing vacancies from tho small drafts which arrive with ' the Reinforcements from New Zealand, asso to enrol New Zealand nurses as their contracts with tho War Office expire, whether in British or in hospital ships. The position on ttio arrival of the Deputy-Director of Medical Services in England was that 51 of the New Zealand nurses had arrived by the MaJieno under an arrangement of the War Ofßco with Headquarters, and five others under tho Matron-in-chiof in Egypt have also been sent to England. Of this number 24 have been posted to Walton Hospital by consent of the Mat-ron-iu-cliief and tho War Office. She has reluctantly agreed to transfer 27 to duty with tho New Zealand Expeditionary Forces, but . owing to the serious shortage, she declines to release five additional ones until the completion of their' contracts with the Imperial service. To enable the staffs to be completed, however, tho Matron-in-chief has complied with the. Deputy-Director's request, and has ordered 30 New Zea- 1 land nurses to be released from British hospitals in Egypt, and also from tho hospital ships. With this ijumb<>r available he will be able to provide working-staffs, of qualified nurses for all our hospitals. The Deputy-Director points out that it would not be necessary to add to the roll of the New Zealand army nursing services nurses to meet requirements if those employed in the British hospitals and in tho hospital ships wero~availoHe, but tho Slat-ron-in-chief firmly declinos to releaso them until their contracts with -tho War Offico expire. V