Many Suggestions On Hospital Noise

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29871, 11 July 1962, Page 15

Many Suggestions On Hospital Noise

(New Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, July 10

The Auckland Hospital Board began something when it decided to institute an "anti-noise" campaign in its hospitals and asked for suggestions from its staff.

Before it at its meeting this week lay 12 foolscap pages of single-spaced suggestions—a preliminary summary of thoughts received so far.

Radios. particularly patients' transistor sets, came in for the severest drubbing as noise makers in hospitals but staff were not backward in handing out brickbats to other members.

The "pig swill” men, domestic staff and orderlies were making too much no se, complained one ward sister. Another sister wanted all workers in the hospital including senior medical officers to wear rubber-soled shoes like nurses.

“There is absolutely no point in nursing staff wearing rubber-soled shoes if all other hospital workers can wear anything from stiletto heels to hob-nail boots," she said. “Gross offenders are female medical staff at night”

Other nuisances were clanking steam pipes, telephones and buzzers too near patients and stainless steel benches and utensils which

clanged when touched. Cleaning and polishing machines, creaking trolleys, banging lifts and slamming doors were criticised. Under the heading of "inconsiderate behaviour" by staff and patients came the old hospital joke about “patients being woken (on rare occasions) so that they could take sleeping pills."

A faint defence for the noise makers came from Cornwall Geriatric Hospital The aim there should be to reduce unnecessary noise and not noise for its own sake, said the writer. “Normal noises of bustle and activity are more to be appreciated by old people than condemned.” he said. We should not attempt to move on slippered feet and create a situation where “the silence ’ung that 'eavy you was 'alf afraid to speak.” Judging by the long list of complaints there was no fear of that happening in hospitals or many years to come.

Australian Wines. The chairman of the Australian Wine Board. Mr I. Seppelt. said tonight that the sale annually of about 1.250.000 gallons of Australian wines could be affected if Britain joined the Common Market under the existing terms of the Treaty of Rome.—London, July 9