Nurses and Midwives—The Dominion's Increasing Supply—Effects of Registration Act

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume VI, Issue 4, 1 October 1913, Page 160

Nurses and Midwives — The Dominion's Increasing Supply — Effects of Registration Act

The number of nurses being trained in our hospitals is increasing yearly, states the Public Health Report. During the year 141 trained in New Zealand weie admitted to registiatlon, while 47 new arrivals in the Dominion were also granted registration. " The question of having a uniform scale of salaries for hospital nurses lias frequently been discussed, but as each Board sets its owd scale, and naturally desires to reward good service by some recognition, it is almost impossible to expect any success, having regard to the various conditions and inducements offered in the services of the several hospitals."

Coming to the midwifery question, the report points out that the number of midwives added to the register during the year was 91, all of these having been trained. Of the number 61 were trained in the State

maternity and other recognised training schools in New Zealand, and 30 were admitted on certificates obtained in other parts of the Empire. Trained midwives are going out as district nurses and subsidised nurses under the Hospital Boards to the backblocks, and establishing private maternity houses in country towns. The number of untrained midwives registered when the Act first passed was 682, and during the first year only 52 trained women were registered. The number of trained midwives now on the register, however, is rapidly overtaking the number of untrained women registered on their practical experience when the Act was passed. There arc now 546 trained midwives and 685 untrained, the number of the former being constantly added to and the latter diminishing.