More concern over nursing shortages

Press, 16 July 1980, Page 6

More concern over nursing shortages

Nurses at Christchurch Hospital share the concern of at Princess Margaret Hospital, pyer alleg&i falling sfiidards of patient care blamed oh staff shortages and financial cuts. ...

Representatives of nurses atM Christchurch Hospital yesterday met ’ the southern regional officer for the Nurses’* Association (Mrs Edna Thomas) to discuss the staffing problem at Christchurch Hospital. “It-was 'obvious .from the serious concern expressed that nurses at Christchurch Hospital are ..suffering the same problems in providing adequate patient care as those at'. Princess ■ Margaret Hospital,” Mrs Thomas said after the meeting. Junior nurses were being expected to cope with responsibilities that should be undertaken, by more senior nurses. •

“In some wards three or four student nurses are .on thh/ward with three reg’stered nurses and the . very junior nursps need a lot of supervision. Added to this, the system of nurse training in ‘blocks’ means that many of-the seniors are away for long periods,” Mrs Th-'fnasi said.’

Particularly severe pres-

sures were being forced cn nurses in the/old wards of Christchurch Hospital, and nurses felt there waA fn iufficient finance to provide relief in these wards as extra finance was beihg drafted to the newly commissioned wsrds. .“In the old orthopaedic wards, one and three, the problems are really bad and because of heavy work load= on nurses for basic nursing care,, time cannot be given to getting patients mobile easier. I gathered from my discussions that the pressures in these two wards are very Severe,” Mrs Thomas said. A system of “day only” nurses designed to: bring some staffing relief was not always successful a; these nurses did not always know the routine of the wards to which. they werh assigned and a lot of time was spent in settling them in. “My information from this afternoon’s meeting and from other discussions, arid from letters I have received from nurses is that because

! of staffing and financial pressures, nurses are under stress, tired,. and very concerned that they are not able to provide as good a service to patients as they would wish,” Mrs Thomas said. Mrs Thomas will hold a meeting this morning with the chairman of the North Canterbury Hospital Bomd (Mr.T. C. Grigg), th? board’s Chief Executive (Mr R. I. Parker), and the board’s Principal ’ Nursing Officer (Miss Brenda Brankin),- who is preparing a comprehensive report on nursing problems for the board before its next meeting on July 23. Mrs Thomas said she welcomed the suggestion made by Mr Grigg to meet u deputation fully representative of nurses and to consider setting up an investigating committee to look into grievances expressed by nurses. “Clearly this problem has got to be. solved soon if we are to bring patient care back to the Standard which nurses wish it to be,” Mrs Thomas said.

Two of four big concrete blocks that have been placed in front of two driveways in Avonhead amid a continuing legal wrangle. Tile blocks were put there on Friday afternoon in a bid to force the ’owners of the house, at 418 Avonhead Road, to contribute to the cost of a new road outside their properties. The move appeared to have had little effect by yesterday afternoon. The owner of one of the properties, Mr J. E. Brain, has used a neighbour’s driveway, and the other owner is on holiday in Australia. Access to the properties

had been by a grass track until the new road was built by the contracting firm of Manger's, Ltd. Last Friday, the owners received a letter which said that the driveways would be blocked unless the roading contribution was paid. Mrs Brain said the letter was a copy of a letter from Avonhead Properties to Mauger’s, instructing the contracting firm to block the driveways. A spokesman for Avonhead Prpperties said the company was entitled to put the blocks there if it wished. The owners of the properties had been aware of the matter for about three months.