5 OCTOBER 1945, Page 13

HOSPITAL HABITS

Snt,—Some of us are very grateful to Mr. Robert Hyde for putting down on paper what we have long been thinking. I had a month in the Whitby Cottage Hospital three years ago and have been able to compare my ex- perience there with that of other friends who were nursed in two of the larger town hospitals. In the latter the nurses simply had not time except to deal efficiently with their patients as " cases." In the smaller hospitals you do get companionship and understanding as well as healing. Thge are the same tiring and disagreeable duties but the atmosphere is more restful and if—though reluctantly—you arc obliged to ring your bell when the nurses are at breakfast, the one who answers your summons meets your apology with the cheerful assurance that it is " part of her job." Apart from the necessary pain and discomfort your days are made happy.—Yours

truly, HILDA CONYERS. Denehild, Castleton, North Yorkshire.