THE NURSE'S TRAINING
[To the Editor of 'THE SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—On July v5th you kindly published a letter from me in which I offered one explanation of the dearth of candidates for nursing and suggested that the public might do two things which in my opinion would niake the lives of hospital nurses happier.. I did, it is true, ask that in any correspondence on the important subject with which your medical corre- spondent dealt, care should be taken not to arouse unnecessary discontent, and after reading Mr: Hill's letter I feel more strongly than ever the soundness of -such advice.
Mr. Hill exhibits an intelligent and sympathetic interest in the work of hospital nurses, of which, he claims, he has considerable knowledge. We who sit on nursing committees weldome such interest, but would ask such people as Mr. Hill to believe that our sympathy with nurses is not less than theirs _and that we are striving to improve the working and other conditions of the nurses under our care.
Ten hours' work a day is heavy. In the hospital where I work the matron informs me that over a period of fourteen days the working hours average fifty-eight per week. The eight hour day is not suitable for all forms of employment and cannot be adopted in fields of medicine other than nursing. In private it would mean the employment of three nurses instead of a day and night nurse as at present. But, however desirable the reduction of hours may be, the main difficulty in effecting this is financial.
Mr. Hill finds fault with the restrictions imposed on nurses during their off-duty time, but I think here his picture is overdrawn and at any rate the restrictions he mentions are by no means general. As to the privileges granted to young men it will have been noticed that letters in the Press indicate that in the opinion of some people more supervision with some restriction of these privileges might prove beneficial.
The whole question is a big one and calls for careful con- sideration, but the purpose of my previous letter was not to discuss nurses' work, but to suggest ways of helping nurses to a greater enjoyment of their lives while in hospital. Do not keep on calling them heroines, do something for them. Let people invite them into their homes, provide them with playgrounds, and in general show them that people really appreciate the sacrifices the nurses make on their behalf.— Yours faithfully, HAROLD H. SANGUINETTI.
35 Holland Street, Kensington, W. 8.
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