ISLAND HOSPITALS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21639, 3 November 1933, Page 9

ISLAND HOSPITALS

SAMOA AND NIUE NATIVE GIRLS AS NURSES Miss Mary Lambie, Director of Nursing for New Zealand, who has been visiting the hospitals of Apia and Niue Island, returned by the Maui Poiuare, which reached Lyttelton this week. Both Apia and Nine come under the jurisdiction of the Department of External Affairs. "The Apia Hospital is divided into three sections, one section for white people, one lor Samoans, and ono for Chinese," said Miss Lamhie. "The Samoans are nursed in their, own native fales, and when one is ad« mitted he or she brings two friends for company and to do the cooking. "The hospital at Apia has a New Zea-* land matron and a staff of New Zealand nurses. There is also a large stafi! of Samoan nurses, whose training occupies two years. Some of these girls remain at the hospital after their training is completed; others return to work at one of the four centres —Savii, : Monona, Alipata or Fanalanga Bay< Here they are visited by the Medical Officer of Health. Samoans make good nurses, and the girls are of the best) type —secondary school girls from th<j mission schools. "At Niue Island the hospital is much smaller, but there, too, in addition to New Zealand nurses there are native girls who are being trained to act nurses. They make good nurses." Living at Apia is in some ways says Miss Lambie. Clothing is cheap, l but food is expensive. Vegetables, for instance, are almost prohibitive. When Miss Lambie was in Apia the Maui. Pomare arrived with a shipment of thesa from New Zealand. Cauliflowers wer»j sold at as much as 2s each, and swedol turnips fetched 8d a lb. Parsnips were round about 9d a lb. It is impossible to grow vegetables in Samoa owing tq the heavy rains and the poor soil. "This is typical of prices," said Miss Lambie. She looked at her watch. "Thid watch has nob had a face since I lcft< Ngav Zealand," she said. "I broke in soon after the boat sailed, but could not get it replaced. You cannot geti a watch mended in Apia; you have td send repairs all the way to New Zetu land. There it no watchmaker there."