Nursing intake decision by Polytech, this week

Press, 3 July 1985, Page 8

Nursing intake decision by Polytech, this week

Christchurch Polytechnic will decide this week whether it can take an extra 10 nursing students into its bridging courses from February next year. The increased intakes were announced yesterday by the Minister of Health, Dr Bassett. Accommodation for the nursing department was the Polytechnic’s main problem, said the director, Mr John Hercus, last evening. “On the face of it, an extra 10 students on top of more than 500 at present seems trivial,” he said.

“Whether we can take them depends on whether we can squeeze them into the size of rooms we have, whether we can get sufficient clinical work for them, and other factors.” The Polytechnic was still trying to cope with increased intakes made over the last two years, said Mr Hercus.

A proposal for a high-rise nursing and science block would be taken to the Education Department in the next 10 days. “We are pretty confident the department will agree

this is the only solution tc our accommodation problems, given a site that has no possibilities of being increased.” Mr Hercus said the Polytechnic had beer asking the department for a permanent nursing and science building for about seven years, but every time a proposal was formulated, intakes had been increased. Dr Bassett’s announcement that the Government planned to double spending on nurse training by the 1988-89 financial year was good news, said Mr Hercus. “The next question is how

they are going to distribute this money,” he said. “Locally, our priority is alleviating some of the bursary hardship facing many nursing students, then a major building programme,” he said. Two new nursing courses at Auckland and Porirua will take an extra 110 students for the three-year course, reports NZPA from Wellington. Dr Bassett announced yesterday approval for a 64place course at Auckland’s Carrington Technical Institute and a course for 48 at the proposed Porirua Community College. Dr Bassett said the Government had also approved increased intakes at established courses to further boost nursing staff. The Waikato Technical Institute will have an increase of 22 to a total intake of 112; and Otago Polytechnic will increase from 48 to 64, both in February next year. Another 16 places will open at Otago from February 1987 to take its total to 80. Two new 20-place bridging courses for registered nurses have also been established at Waikato Technical Institute and Manawatu Polytechnic to allow registered nurses to work several areas of nursing. Intakes at established bridging courses have been increased by 10 each at Nelson Polytechnic and Southland Community College, from February next year.