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I admit, and it may probably be said that their labours. It is making a farce of we have a very satisfactory number of the thing to ask women to undertake more nurses. and cannot afford any more. work than they can possibly carry out, That is a debateable point. I think we and then turn round and say,
This is can and we ought to. That is not the our nursing staff, as good as any other question. As to the number of nurses, we Colony of the same size has, and you lave to deal with a population of so must be satisfied." That is not the way many hundreds of thousands of people. I to look at it. I think the Government The point is that we require trained should take the whole community fully nurses from Home, not local probationers into their confidence. Let us discuss this who, as we know, are practically of little question, not in a hostile spirit, but work- use for certainly many months after they ing for the best results to the Colony, first take office. We are prepared to pay and I am quite sure, Sir, that any reason- anything in reason for this necessity-not able proposition your Excellency puts luxury, absolute necessity; exactly in the before us we shall be glad to accept. We same way as wireless, which was unknown do consider, in the first place, that the a few years ago, is now an absolute neces- staff should be increased, and, if that is sity to modern shipping. If it can be not possible, that the work of the nurses proved to the satisfaction of the Colony should be decreased. that we cannot afford more nurses, that we have got to rest content with the small staff we have, then I can only say that the whole reorganisation of the work of that staff should be considered. We be lieve we are amply justified in stating that these good ladies are greatly over- worked. We know the number of patients who are treated in the hospitals, and we know the number of nurses, and we quite realise that they cannot possibly satis- factorily grapple with the amount of work they are supposed to do. Now, I am not speaking without special know- ledge. It has been my fate to have had very considerable experience of nurses and nursing homes. I spent many months at two very well-known nursing homes in London, where women were constantly relieved, undertaking comparatively few cases, and some of them only single cases. They were working night and day under my personal observation. and I know that, even, under the most favourable con- ditions, the work was so arduous that they constantly required recreation. The nurses here have other things to contend with. They have a tropical climate, suffer troubles, illnesses and petty annoyances in the way of prickly heat and so forth. which they would escape at Home. This is all added to the fact that they are deal- ing with a great number of cases at the same time: believe I am right in say ing, far too many cases, and the holidays are, comparatively speaking, few and far between.
I maintain that the Govern- ment have no right to work their em- ployees to such an extent, certainly not ladies, delicate women engaged in an arduous profession and in a hostile climate. It is wrong, absolutely wrong, and if you cannot see your way to in- creas the staff, then you must reduce
HIS EXCELLENCY-Gentlemen, I am sorry I cannot accept this motion for a very simple reason. The number of recominendations to increase the staff which are forwarded every month in the year to the Governor by cach department are very numerous, and if I were to appoint a committee to inquire into each one of these with which I did not agree, well, the busy time of unofficial menibers of this Council, and of civilians outside Government departments who apparently desire to sit on such committees, would be occupied to an extraordinary extent. Now, it the rule of the Government service that if the head of a department wants an increase of staff he sends for- ward a recommendation, backed by solid facts, in time for provision to be made in the estimates of the succeeding year after there has been time to get the sanc- tion of the Secretary of State to the increase in the personnel. This recom mendation was made in the middle of last summer, beyond the time which I have stated. When you come to examine the facts set out in the answers to the questions of the hon. member you are faced with the conclusion that there has been no great increase of cases treated in the the hospitals; extensions to hospitals of any material size; nothing to indicate why, suddenly, in the middle of the year 1913, it is considered necessary to increase the staff of the hospitals. There have been many able heads of the Medical Department. Dr. Atkinson him- self was the man who introduced the Nursing Staff from Home. For several years before he left the Colony the staff stood as it is now. He never made any recommendations for an increase. There- fore, when I received the recommenda-
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tion, backed as it was by officers of the | perhaps eight years of my life in bed department but that is nothing extra- when a boy, being nursed, so I know what ordinary, for some heads of departments good nursing means. Now, these sisters are only too ready to recommend increases here do eight hours' duty out of the in their staff-it was not surprising that twenty-four; that is to say, they have I should consider it necessary that some
At the London justification should be given me for such sixteen hours of leisure. an increase. I considered that
Hospital the nurse on day duty goes on increase in the probationers' staff would at 7 in the morning and remains on duty be sufficient. I made that decision on the till 9.30 p.m., with an interval of three 11th August, and left the Colony on leave hours off duty out of that time, and the on the following day. Probably, if I had nurse on night duty is on for twelve remained here, and it had been represent- hours at a spell. In addition, the nurs- ed to me that it was difficult to get pro- ing staff at the London Hospital do the batiouers, then I might have made some whole of what I may call the menial other disposition. As it was, remarks services; they have no other help or assis- made by the hon. member who represents tance of any kind, they have to wash the Chamber of Commerce when the patients, make the beds, deal with slops, Estimates were under consideration were bed pans, etc., carry food and medicines; brought to my notice when I returned. I in fact everything is done by the nursing inquired whether probationers had been staff with the exception of scrubbing obtained, and as they had not, then I floors, cleaning stoves, making fires and proceeded to thoroughly investigate the washing crockery. Now, the sisters here conditions of the staff. Well, the conclusion are assisted by no less than 22 ward boys I arrived at was that while the staff was in the Government Civil Hospital and amahs, and in the Maternity absolutely adequate for the work it has two
The whole to do, there was no provision for absences Hospital by five amahs.
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done by during leave. That is in accordance with of the policy of this Government; no de- this part of the staff, and in addi- a staff of coolies to partment is supplied with extra members tion there is for filling vacancies caused through leave. | do the housemaid work, so the plea of I also found a matter which had not overwork won't hold water. been, but required to be, dealt with, and to which I had myself drawn attention before I went on leave; that was the treatment of maternity cases by nurses from general wards. That is a point which ought to be remedied. Taking these two points into consideration, 1 came to the conclusion since the last meeting of the Council that I would re commend to the Secretary of State an increase of three sisters as a temporary measure pending further investigation as to the disposition of the staff. One of these nurses has been engaged, and we are looking for two more. I trust that that information will be satisfactory to hon. members, and it seems to render quite unnecessary the elaborate committee which they wish to have appointed.
HON. MR. POLLOCK-Does your Ex- cellency mean three sisters in addition to the one coming out at the end of June to supply the vacancy of one of the sisters who got married?
HIS EXCELLENCY- Yes, and I think it would be useful if I just say a word about the work of these sisters. I have the greatest sympathy for them. I have suffered a great deal myself: 1 passed
There is another point I would like to mention, and that is, that as far as I can make out there is not any hospital in any Crown Colony of the size of the Civil Hospital that has the same amount of European nursing staff. I have been in the Colony of Fiji, which has a very large medical department, and certainly we had nothing
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like the white staff there. obtains in Ceylon, and in Singapore and the Straits Settlements. The Empire of India would be ruined if they tried tc run their hospitals the way we run ours. Therefore I have been forced conclusion that some reorganisation is necessary. I am going to make. with the approval of the Secretary of State, an increase in the staff for the specific purposes mentioned, but I would inform hon. metubers that in my opinion we must place a limit to the number of sisters doing the ordinary work of the hospital. It is not at all necessary that the 'hildar pirates should have the tender care of white nurses; something less expensive ought to be good enough for them. The hon. member who proposed the resolution took some exception to the answers to these questions. Really I cannot under-
good deal of trouble and why. I took
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