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The existing sleeping accommodation at the Hospital, which is insufficient, provides 49 beds
for Nursing Staff and 33 beds for Domestic Staff. It will therefore be seen that to make up for the
present deficiency of bed accommodation at the Hospital and to allow for the additions to the Staff,
consequent upon a 48 hours week. 60 additional beds will be required, 35 being provided for Nursing
Staff and 25 for Domestic Staff.
Nursing Staff.
Thirty-five additional beds required. If a 48 hours week is adopted the necessary additional
accommodation may be obtained.
(1) By having the additional Nurses living out in rooms found by them, their wages being
proportionately increased.
(2) By having the additional Nursing Staff boarded out in houses obtained and maintained
by the Council, or
(3) By providing the necessary additional accommodation in the grounds at the Hospital.
The first arrangement could be adopted in respect of Sisters and Staff Nurses—of whom,
however, there would be only 19 employed—but such an arrangement would not be suitable in
respect of Probationers who usually enter the Hospital from the country and require supervision
during their training period. At the present time, however, it would seem a practical impossibility
to consider the question of obtaining the necessary additional accommodation required in rooms or
houses outside the Hospital on account of the scarcity of housing accommodation in Willesden.
In these circumstances the alternative would appear to be to provide accommodation inside
the Hospital. This may be provided by means of temporary or permanent buildings. Thirty of
the Domestic Staff are at present housed in temporary corrugated iron buildings curtained off at
the Hospital. This arrangement is not satisfactory and has already been reported on adversely
by the Committee. It is possible to erect temporary buildings which would provide better accommodation
for the Nurses, but it appears open to question if this is an economical or sound policy either
from the building point of view or from the point of view that it is difficult to obtain and retain a
staff which is not well housed.
Domestic Staff.
Twenty-five additional beds required. This additional number for Domestic Staff would
not be required if the 9 Laundry Staff, 16 Ward Maids, 9 Dormitory Maids, 1 Needlewoman and
2 Needleroom Maids, or 37 in all, were made non-resident daily instead of resident staff as at present.