H.—3l.

by a wider section of the public and, in the North Island, by the Maoris. In one country hospital the number of Maori patients in comparison to non-Maori patients has increased from one sixteenth to one third in four years. This is no doubt due to the Maoris' increasing knowledge and respect for the health services of the country. General Hospitals. Hospital authorities have been most concerned by firstly, an apparent shortage of applicants and, secondly, a shortage of registered nurses. It is therefore necessary to focus attention on these two factors — (a) Shortage of Applicants.—The following table shows that there are 929-54 more occupied hospital beds used for training-school purposes and 592 more pupil nurses in training than in 1932. There has been approximately an increase of 200 entrants a year. It might be pointed out that these returns cover a period of a falling birth-rate after the Great War, when fewer girls of the particular agegroup which enter hospital for training were available and when there has been experienced in the last three years a great demand for female labour in every avenue of work arising from the Government's expansion policy: — A. Daily Average Occupied Beds for all Training-Schools. 31st December, 1932 .. .. .. .. .. ..3 981-72 31st December, 1933 .. .. .. .. .. ..4 059-30 31st March, 1935* .. .. .. ~ ~ ~ 4*220-05 31st March, 1936 .. .. .. .. __ 4'467-41 31st March, 1937 .. .. .. .. .. 4^734-85 31st March, 1938 .. .. .. .. 4^911-26 B. Total Nursing Staff for all Training-Schools. 1932. 1933. 1934. 1935. 1936. 1937. Total nursing staff .. .. 1,769 1,967 2,116 2,264 2,442 2,534 Total pupil nurses on staff .. 1,257 1,412 1,502 1,640 1,803 1,849 Total registered nurses on staff .. 512 555 614 624 639 685 C. Total Number of Nurses Sitting and Passing State Examinations. 1932. 1933. 1934. 1935. 1936. 1937. Number sitting .. .. .. 385 448 403 354 380 478 Number passed .. .. .. 272 338 280 262 315 366 * Statistics changed from calendar to financial year. While it is essential to have a well-organized and sufficient nursing service for the country's needs it should be obvious that the rapidly expanding hospital occupancy cannot depend on increased Student labour for staffing purposes without considerably lowering the very excellent standard maintained by the majority of hospitals and without ultimately repeating the condition when the country was faced with a large supply of nurses it could not absorb. All the suitable hospitals have already been approved as training-schools. It is probable that the proportion of nurses to patients (1 to 2 occupied beds) as at present will be increased slightly to carry out the work efficiently and to give shorter hours, but this increase should be largely with registered nursing staff, as the proportion of 685 registered staff to 1,849 pupil staff, or approximately Ito3, is too low. (b) Shortage of Registered Nurses. An analysis of the present position shows that, eliminating certain wastage throughout the year, there are 4,306 nurses on the active registers to date. As far as is known, the following figures give some idea as to how they are employed :— Public hospitals which are training-schools .. .. .. 685 Public hospitals which are not training-schools .. .. .. 300 (approx.) Obstetrical hospitals (public) .. .. .. ~ 100 (approx) Private hospitals (general) .. . . . . .. . . 74g Public health nursing (Health Department, Child-welfare Division, Plunket Society, Hospital Boards, Voluntary Organizations) . . .. .. 325 Tropical nursing service .... .. .. 28 Private nursing—Nurses attached to bureaux .. .. .. .. ~ 420 Nurses not attached to bureaux . . . . . . . . 300 (approx ) Overseas . . .. . . . . . . , 30Q (approx.) Unaccounted for .. .. .. . . .. 1 100 Total -• •• ■■ •• •• .. .. 4,306 During the year this Office has known officially of 101 nurses leaving New Zealand for overseas, and only 12 have returned. Marriages, death, &c., have caused officially a wastage of 46, but this is by no means correct, and it would seem that there ig a wastage, of at least two hundred nurses a year.

34