‘Volunteer nurses pool'

Press, 26 September 1980, Page 5

‘Volunteer nurses pool'

A . pool of voluntary! nurses has been suggested as one way of averting the, nursing shortages which plagued hospitals in Christchurch this winter. Mrs Edna Thomas, South Island regional officer of the Nurses’ Association, said this, was one of the ideas to come from a meeting this week on nursing problems facing hospitals in the North Canterbury Hospital Board’s area. “There are many nurses already known to us who would be prepared to come

'! in part-time if given in-ser-l vice training- beforehand,” >, Mrs Thomas said “These ■ people could be used for ■ I such tasks as escort duties, thus freeing other nurses for , clinical duties.” , A questionnaire would be i sent to several hundred ■ )! nurses in the district who might be willing to provide such a service. , Another means of relief . for nurses which would be followed was the reduction in the time nurses spent ’ compiling medical records so ' that more time could be

given to direct patient care. Mrs Thomas said that the Nurses' Association believes that financial resources on health must be directed to adequate nursing staff levels rather than to expensive new medical technology such as the duplication of neurosurgical and heart surgical units. “The money that medical technology can gobble up is endless. It is time that priorities are determined so that patients can be assured of safe, quality nursing care,” Mrs Thomas said.