Auckland

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume III, Issue 1, 1 January 1910, Page 20

Auckland

A meeting of the executive was held at Rawlingstone on the Ist October, eight members being present, when questions for consideration by the Central Council at its first meeting, were discussed. It was proposed by Mrs. Hardie Neill, and seconded by Mrs. Bedford : " That a letter of sympathy m

his bereavement be sent to Dr. Scott, of Onehunga." With a vote of thanks to to the chair the meeting terminated. A meeting was held at the Nurses' Institute on the 6th November, eight members being present. Accounts were passed for payment up to the amount of £18 13s. A

sub-committee was appointed to arrange about obtaining a club-room, Mrs. Bedford (President), Mrs. Kidd, Miss Morrison and Miss Peiper kindly consenting to act. A vote of confidence m the delegates to the Central Council was passed, and with the customary thanks to the President the meeting terminated. A meeting of the executive was held at " Rawhiti " on the Ist December, to consider a telegram and letter forwarded by the Wellington branch, to consider what steps should be taken with regard to the passing of clause 125 m the Hospitals and Charitable Aid Bill, then before the Upper House. It was unanimously decided to wire to the Hon. Geo. Fowlds, Minister m charge of the Bill, also to the Secretary of the Wellington branch, that the Auckland branch emphatically protests against the passing of such clause as worded, as being unworkable from a professional point of view ; wires being sent to that effect, and followed by letters giving the reasons for such protest. A very interesting discussion followed, on the work being done by the club-room committee, and a general scheme outlined by the President for the furnishing thereof. A general meeting was held m the City Council Chambers on the 25th October, 1909, there being a good attendance of members. Correspondence was received from Dr. Purdy, suggesting that the Association members volunteer their services, m the event of such being required m the Dominion, m time of war. It was decided to obtain the signatures of those willing to assist the movement, and that they be sent to Colonel Wolfe, the local officer commanding, to be forwarded to the proper quarter. The questions to come before the Central Council, to be held m Wellington, were then dealt with, and some very interesting discussions followed. The meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to Mrs. Bedford for presiding.

Miss Bickneix, Hon. Sec, Trained Nurses' Association, Wellington. Madam, — The following is a draft of a letter which my Council has directed me to send to the Minister m Charge of Hospitals, as following a wired protest against the passing of clause 125 m the Hospitals Bill, now before the Upper House : —

" Sir, — We base our protest against clause 125 m the Hospitals Bill, on the following arguments : — (1) The definition of the term * emergency ' will cause difficulties : Not only is most nursing of the nature of emergency work (for even m chronic cases emergencies may arise), but m many important cases, it is bad for the patient that the nurses should be suddenly changed by the clock ; and also, as the majority of nurses m hospitals are pupils, it is important that they should not be mechanically sent away from the ward when some change is taking place m a sick person's condition, which may be valuable and instructive as a part of the nurse's training. It is always hurtful to the discipline of the ward and teaching of juniors, that head nurses should be more frequently changed than is absolutely necessary (2) The observance of eight-hour duty is injurious to training, for it should be left to the discretion of seniors to retain juniors m a ward longer than a specified time, or even to recall to the ward when off duty if some condition arises m a patient the observation of which will be helpful to the pupil nurse. (3) The general effect of clause 125 will be to lower the nurse's conception of her work ; it will tend to make her look upon her duties as a mechanical occupation, m which so much work demands so much pay. It may also tend to disputes and bad feeling between nurses and those over them ; as nurses who take but little interest m their work can easily formulate complaints about overtime. A workman can stop sawing a plank, or laying a brick at the stroke of the clock ; but a nurse cannot, or should not, suddenly stop attending to a sick person. (4) The passing of clause 125 will necessitate a larger staff of pupil nurses m small country hospitals, and m consequence not only increase expense, but require a larger staff of pupil nurses m hospitals that are too small to train pupils properly. (5) It will also make the work of private hospitals so expensive, owing to the larger staff required, that many of them will have to be closed ; m other words, this means that the Government, while examining and registering nurses, yet deprives them of an honourable and useful occupation, viz., the keeping of private hospitals.

(6) Nurses m private work have more responsibility^than m hospital.r In houses m the country and suburbs^not connected by telephone, they may be wholly responsible for 24 consecutive hours ; their duties are always multifarious. The clause, to be logical, should confine the work of private nurses to even less than eight hours, on account of the greater responsibility and more difficult nature of their work. If it is meant to place exact legal restrictions on the work of nurses m hospital, the work of nurses m private practice requires even more drastic legislation." E. Iy. Wyatt. (Hon. Sec, Auckland Branch T.N.A.)

Note. — The clause protested against, and which was introduced by a private Member, among supplementary sections, read as

follows : — " Except m case of emergency, the^hours'of^employment of nurses, probationers, s ancf dressers m any'hospital, shall not exceed |s 6^hours in^any^one week." The clause was altered in^the^Upper House to : " In hospitals of over] 10(f beds the hours of employment of uncertificated nurses shall not exceed 56 m any one week." [As will be seen, this clause does not greatly affect the working of the hospitals, as it is what has been done by some of the larger hospitals for some years past, and m a busy hospital gives the pupil nurses more time for study, though a valuable part of training is lost m testing the endurance and patience of nurses with special cases. The professional status of trained nurses is not m any way encroached upon, and the nurse*, have reason for congratulation that m so short a time a serious danger to their work was averted. — Editor.]