Matron Not Consulted

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 149, 25 June 1937, Page 2

Matron Not Consulted

REQUESTS MADE DIRECT. From Our Own Correspondent. NAPIER, June 24. A serious view has been taken by the members of the lloyal Commission of the action taken by the unregistered nurses at the Napier Public Hospital iu departing from the recognised practice by writing to the Hospital Board and to the department before taking the matron into their confidence. Before this morning’s sitting began, the chairman, Mr E. D. Mosley, S.M., acquainted counsel with the commission’s views on the matter. If generally adopted, he said, the practice would destroy discipline. “I want to remove the misunderstanding! that may exist even in the minds of counsel,” said Mr Mosley. “There is a misunderstanding in the minds oi the nurses which certainly wants to be removed and which is of the greatest importance to the nurses. “My colleagues have tendered certain advice to me which 1 accept in its entirety and which coincides with my own private opinion—that is, that unregistered nurses adopted a course that is contrary to recognised practice. “They should have taken tho matron into their confidence and exhausted all avenues first with her before writing to the Hospital Board and to the department. They erred in ignorance. Also, we sympathise with them in many of their reasonable requests, and 1 am sure that the byard does as well. We feel that if these methods were adopted in hospitals generally all discipline would be destroyed.” “I lor one ain extremely pleased to hear the opinions of the commission on the matter,’’ said Mr M. 11. Grant, counsel for the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board. ‘‘As counsel for the board and a ratepayer, 1 am extremely interested in the hospital It is difficult to know how discipline would be maintained in the future if some statement like that were not made, jf the commission’s views are communicated to the nurses l am sure that there is not likely to be any further repetition.”