Urgent action sought on nurses’ plight

Press, 14 July 1980, Page 1

Urgent action sought on nurses’ plight

Heal tli reporter Shortages of qualified nurses at Princess Margaret Hospital and Christchurch Hospital could have “frightening implications” for patients, said the southern regional officer for the Nurses’ Association, (Mrs Edna Thomas) last evening.

“If the problem is as serious as I have been led to believe, then urgent action must be taken. Nurses are a caring group, not a power group. Patients are not a power group either, therefore the hospital board must get to the bottom of this problem, for a staffing problem undoubtedly exists,” Mrs Thomas said.

The association was told on Friday by the Minister of Health (Mr Gair) that the North Canterbury Hospital Board would have to live within its financial allocation, Mrs Thomas said.

Little alternative seemed likely but to prune services where there were staffing shortages. Mrs Thomas said. A reduction in nonurgent hospital admissions and earlier discharges for some patients was likely. Mrs Thomas will meet representatives of nursing staff at Princess Margaret

Hospital this and a similar group fromChristchurch Hospital on Tuesday, to discuss the staff shortages. She said that consider-: able light would be thrown on the total problem in a report which the hospital - board had asked its prin-

cipal nursing officer (Miss Brenda Brankin) to pre-

pare before the next full meeting of the board on July 23. It was vital to identify where shortages were occurring, and on what criteria staff levels were established, and whether registered nurses were working extended hours unknown to

the nursing administration. Mrs Thomas agreed that the present influenza outbreak. had taken a severe toll on nursing staff and had probably brought the staff shortage problem to a head. On two days last week about a fifth of the nurses at Princess Margaret Hospital and Christchurch Hospital were absent with the

flu. In the case of Princess Margaret Hospital 40 nurses out of a total of 200 were absent. At Christchurch Hospital 57 nurses out of a total of 276 were absent. Tne hospital board’s chief executive (Mr R. I.

Parker) said last evening that the board had had to cope with increased patient numbers at both the hospitals, while working within a financial cut of about 1 per cent. “We appreciate the pressures on nursing and other

staff, and we are doing all we can to overcome’these. Measures aimed at a shortterm relief to the problem _,will..follow the consideration of Mis? Brankin’s report.” Mr Parker said one solution to the problem might be to move staff from one area not under pressure to another which was busier.