HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10686, 4 September 1920, Page 8

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

A DAY ; WITH THE ESTIMATES MENTAL HOSPITAL VOTE, .£250,784. CLASSIFICATION AND HALF-WAY ■-»..: :;..., HOUSES.-. »;,;;■ ;.:;,■/;:::-,:.;; The House of Representatives met at "Preliminary business (dealt with elsewhere) was completed by 250 p.m. The amendments of the. Legislative Council to the Napier Harbour Board Bill—merely technical < amendments in. sorted at the request of the member for Hawke's.Bay.(Mr H. M. Campbel ! l) agreed to. ' ' ' • ' ' ' At seven minutes to 3 the House went into Committee of Supply on the EtstiOn the Mental Hospitals vote (-£250,7&1), Mr G. Witty (Riccarton) stated that the nurses and attendants at the mental hospitals had to work too long hours and received too little pay; and that both they and the doctors were kept at such work too many years. He urged that for superannuation ten years' service in the mental hospitals should count as fifteen in any other department, .and twenty years as 30; also that no doctor, nurse, "or attendant should* remain :n any" such institution more that ten to fifteen years. Dr Newman (Wellington East) advocated the establishment of convalescent homes for inmates of mental hospitals, and the need for the classification of inmates. . , , . ' , The Minister said that he recognised that the hours were long and .the conditions not too satisfactory. But nurses, without previous training, received less .£2O for board, or .£95 a year. The male attendants were paid proportion- * Replying to Mr J. P. Luke (Wellington North), Mr Parr said that the nurses and attendants would receive the same bonus as was being paid to other public servants; and' ho thought that that would make the v wages all right. Ho added that he would be pleased to con6ider Mr Witty*s suggestion in regard to the superannuation of those employed in mental hospitals. Classification of the inmates would bo carried out as far as practicable. i PORIRUA FARM. "EXCELLENT WORK.". ■Mr W. H. Field (Otaki) supported strongly the plea that the superannuation period should be shortened for employees in mental hospitals. He referred to the very excellent work done at the Porirua Mental Hospital farm. A very unpromising piece of land had been turned into a good farm, and very fine breeds of cattle and pigs, had been developed Ho stressed tho importanco of having ample land space attached to the mental hospitals. .„. , > i/ i j Mr W. D. Lysnar (Gisborne) contended that there should be some committee or board to decide as to whether the inmates woro'fit to be at large or rot. The responsibility should not rest with the - superintendent, though his advice should be taken. He.had had to take a very strong stand to get a man whom he felt to be quite sane out of a certain mental hospital. He got him out, but on the dav he was released, the superintendent wrote a very damning letter sayin<7- that, the man was dnnfferoiifi, and he would take no responsibility. Ho onlv got the man out by undertaking to Tin™ an ittt<-nda.Tit to look after him. He •beliVved there were manv such cases, but tbi>v hnd Tin friends to ore* th°m out. Mr T). O. Sullivan (Avon) stronitlv advocated the provision of convalescent homes, or something in the way of halfway houses, to deal with nerve cases. Tf the Gnvornment could not set" up such institutions, it should, he urged, license T/rivate institutions for such •work.—Of course, under proper safeguards. CONDITION OF INMATES. "SANE AS A MWVTOFT?, OF PARLIAMENT." Mr R. A. Wright (Wellington .Suburbs) )=ni>l that only a hoard of experts could decido whether an inmate of a mental hospital wa6 fit to ho at large or not.

Many of the inmates were quite as sane as a member of Parliament on all subjects but one; and the superintendents were faced with a very grave responsibility in having to decide whether persons' who might be liable to homicidal mania should go free or not. There, was also the danger that such people, if. set free, -would nave children who might also be liable to homicidal mania. Mr L. M.» lsitt (Chxistchurch North) strongly supported this view; and also urged that it the Government could not set up convalescent homes or half-way houses, they should license private institutions of the kind. Mr Parr aaid that the department iad already, with his support, approached the Superannuation Board to see if special arrangements could be made as to the superannuation of mental 'hospital employees. <Hear, hear.) He fully recognised the value of large areas of land in connection with the mental hospitals. The work on the land not only had oVrurative value, but was also highly remunerative. Referring to Mr Lysnar's speech, hie expressed the hope that it would not go forth from the House that there were people in the mental hospitals who should be sot free. Mr Lysnar:. It should go forth. The Minister said that the superintendents were responsible and able men of high character, and there were ample safeguards to provide against such cases (Hear, hear.) He would strongly prefer Government, convalescent homes and half-way .houses 1 to private institutions for dealing with'Tnild mental and nerve cases. (Hear, hear.) Mr H. Atmore (Nelson) held that the fact that the Minister had to ask for so large a vote as .£250,000 for mental hospitals, showed the need for an inquiry inti? the alarminc increase of mental diseases in the country. Tn 1870 there was one inmwte in a mental hospital in every 680 of the population, but to-day the proportion was one in every Mr M. J. Savage (Auckland. West) urged the necessity for a commission or comanittee of inquiry as to the management of mental Hospitals generally and of the Auckland institution in particular. - A former attendant at the Auckland mental hospital had, he said, made charges in regard to the understaffing of the institution, the mixing of tu'.bercular patients with others; and he cited a case in which, a well-known. Auckland man was sent to the mental hospital, but there was a strong public agitation, and ho -was released within a fortnight;. The hon. member would not say that that was the result of the agitation; but it was -said' that the* man 6tood in the way in regard; to certain property, and they all knew there had been such cases. Air Lysnar again urged that an independent committee or board should be set ;Up to investigate cases, and that the whole responsibility should not rest on the superintendent. Mr lsitt: Who on earth could relieve him of the responsibility ? (Hear, hear.) The Minister replied that there could be no substitute for the skilled specialist .■who::aia*dr;had;r.the::-mn«.:or : woman under his eye for months, or it. might be years. Nobody but the superintendent could properlv decide on such cases. As to the Auckland institution, the superintendent (Dr. Beattie) was one of the ablest and best known specialists in such cases in Australasia, and was also a very capable organiser. If, however, Mr Savage would give him particulars as to the charges he had referred to he would have them investigated. Mr G, Witty (Riccarton) thought the amounits paid to matrons "and head assistants "was "insufficient.\ 'He considered the doctors and members of the staffs were doing the best they could for the patients. He .could not agree: with the member, for Gisborne that laymen should be allowed a sav regarding the release of mental patients; that was a matter for the experts. Mr Lysnar: That is just where you make a mistake. , ,' The vote was agreed to. (J» ■ , PUBLIC HEALTH. PAY AND HOURS OF NURSES. Consideration wa then given to ths Public Health. Hospital and Charitable .-i-.u vole oi '.*;it)»..i&*. ■ . Mr J. McCombs (Lyttelton) said that tho pay of nurses ought to be increased. Mr V. H. Reed (Bav of Islands) also appealed for an increase in the pay of 3 ' Minister (Hon. C. J. Parr) said he was inclined to think there was something in the complaints regarding pay and hours of nurses. He thought something should be done, particularly as to hours. The gnls were called on to work seven days a week and the hours were about eight per day. That should not bo Ho believed there were twenty-tour oases in four years of nurses breaking down, through lone hours.. He intended to ask the boards to give these 511 Is one clear day a week free from, duty and that could be insisted on by the department. As to pay it had to be. remembered the girls were, being trained for their profession, were given board and lodgings, uniform, and their home was comfortable. . ~.;,,, Mr V. H. Reed interacted that the nurses were not getting trained, for their profession until after the third year. The Minister agreed that £75 a year after passing the examination was rather low pay and ho would look into the ques-. tion. ' BACKBLOCKS PLEA DRAWS MINISTERIAL STATEMENT. » Mr W. T. Jennings (Waitomo) made a plea for better nursing service for the i Mr bI T. k M. Wilford (Hutt) supported Mr Jennings'* pleaThe Minister said ho had sympathy with this matter. The .policy of the department was to begin . a modified form of. State medical serves in tho baokblacks. (Hear, hear.) "The only wav to deal with this question 1* seemed to'him was for the State to get a doctor but him in the baekblocks, and pay; him. He thought the expenditure wouh. be justified, and the people who lived in the baekblocks were entitled, to. that consideration. He did not think . the House would begrudge the few thousands of pounds this would cost. He thought' the State would have to niako it a condition of the'State-medical business that when a' young doctor had | finished his five years 7 course hp shqir-n repay tho State a little of what it had done for him by . rendering a oertain amount of service in tho. baekblocks. ■ NURSES*ToNG~HOURS. AND SMALL PAT. Mr Witty' (Riccarton), Mr E. Masters (Stratford), and Dr. Newman (V, lington East) protested against the long hours -that hospital nurses had to work, and their small pay—s 6 hours a week, instead of an eight-hours day, and a commencing wage of only .£3O a. year. Tho Minister promised to consider the matter and see what could be done. Dr-Newman suggested that superannuation should also be provided for the nurses. He urged that.tho laws. of quarantino should be strictly enforced. During the last epidemic they se'omod to havo been entirely neglected. He stressed the nece&eity for protecting the

country not only from influenzia, but also fi-orn cholera, yellow fever, and other Asiatic diseases. He asked what the Minister was going to do for a consumptive sanatorium in the North Island in place of the Te Waikato institution, which was being closed. Mr R. McCalluni (Wairau) contended that there was waste going on in the department, and the extravagance of the hospital boards should be checked, lie permanent charges of the Government now amounted to nearl-v thirteen millions of money, and all departments ahould be closely supervised. Ho charged the Government with something like a breach of faith in. regard to the late epidemic. A Blenheim doctor who worked through the epidemic and «en* in a bill for MOO, was, he said, willing to take half of what he had earned; but when he took actipn the SolicitorGeneral advised rthe dep.&Ttiment Wra-t the late Minister (the Hon. G. W. Russell) had exceeded his powers, and the doctor was thus out of court. He did not doubt that there were other cu-sos. He moved the reduction oi the Epidemic Vote of JS3OOO by .£1 to call attention to the matter. ,„.,.. , „ Mr Luke said that the late Minihter had done splendid work during, the epidemic, and it outweighed any little mistakes ho might have made. . . Mr Parr said that he had. inquired about the Blenheim case of Ms omcers, and found that they knew.little or nothing about it. , , , , Mr Massey said that he had ncardi nothing of it. . , , ~ Mr lsitt and Mr Wright also paid tribute to the good work done by Mr Russell. '■ Mr AVright the necessity for research work, for the prevention of disease, and expressed the hope that Parliament would be able at no distant date to vote the Minister an adequate sum for that purpose.. Mr W. A. Veitch <Wanganui> emphasised the need' of seeming an adequate supply of milk for city children, and of humanised milk at a reasonably price for very young children. It was of little use, he said, sending Br Iruby King round -to teach mothers bow to use milk that they could not afiord to buy.

WEEKLY DAY OFF FOR NURSES. Mr Parr ©aid that provision would be made for hospital nurses to have one full day's rest per week; shorter hours, and less onerous work. (Hear, hear.) He would also go into the question of their wages, though now. they were better paid in New Zealand than in any country in the world. . _ Mr Witty: And why shouldnt they be? (Hear, hear.) A vote of added the Minister, was provided to assist the weaker hospital districts until the whole <■ question of rates and subsidy could be dealt with. It was proposed, also, to .increase the subsidy for the Plunket nurses. „ ~ Mr Isitt stated that in Canada tho need for nurses" and mid wives \n ihe back districts was so great that a number of - settlers' wives had been given a six months' course in nursing and midwifery; and the system had proved a great success. He suggested that a similar system might be adopted here. THE RAT PLAGUE. Mr P. Eraser. (Wellington Central) asked whether the quarantine accommodation at Somes Island was sufficient. Referring to the protection of the health of the port, ho oalled attention to the fact that some time ago the steamer Malta, declared a clean ship in Wellington, was found, on reaching India, to be infested with diseased rats. He urged the (necessity for. controlling the rat nuisance, and preventing the rats, conveying disease from ship to ship; or from ship to shore. Mr Wilford: What remedy do you suggest? The Worthington hawser rat trap? ' Mr Fraser: Yes. . It has often been discussed by thlslHou&e; and from my experience out the wharves -I consider th« hawsei rat trap the best preventive. The Minister said that all modern medical opinion was againßt the old quarantine system, .though ho must confess that that doctrine was too radical for him. There was accommodation at Somes Igfand for 200 to 300 persons. That was all that the Government could undertake. Provision was alio made at Auckland and other portu. . Mr Sullivan 6aid that the statement of the Minister- as to quarantine wont to show that the' Government was not carrying out the recommendations of the Epidemic Commission. Mi Frasor pressed for an answer in regard to the s.s. Malta and the rat nuisance. Mr M. J. Savage (Auckland West) protested against adequate ' quarantine provision not being made to safeguard tho Dominion against • the , introduction of diseese. At 11 p.m. the vote was carried. IDLE NATIVE LANDS. On tho Lands and Survey Vot* (JG2B-1, 133), Mr Wilford asked whether the Minister did "jn°t think that the time had come vhen the Crown Lands D< partment should administer the large blocks of native land still held "idle »nd asrisl r.be natives to devolop and work the land. B.<t suggested, .also, that tho remainder of tho Wilford block at Petono, owjied by the Government, should bo opened up ai~ offered for sale. ' The Mimstor for Lands (the Hon. D. H. Guthrie) said that provision had been made, early this week for opening up the rest of the Wilford estate. Shortly aitex 1.20 the Lands Department vote .was passed, and the House proceeded to discuss the Valuation Department vote totalling .£69,381. The Prime Minister said that the Commissioner of Taxes had furnished a statement showing a total increase of unimproved values amounting to J324,010,408, which would be available for the land tax for the current year. Ho added that 90 now men were to be employed by the Valuation Department, Mr McCallum urged the Prime Minister to see that these men were used to value the big estates first. The voto was passed at 1.30 a.m. On the Agricultural vote, totalling ,£25&,997. Mr Massey said that a large quantity of Nauru phosphates should he ready Jot shipment this month. At 2.30 a.m. tho vote was passed and I the House adjourned till 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday. _^