PM attends Association's 75th Annual Conference - New Zealand ...

PoliceNewsThe Voice of PoliceWrite it here! Letters to the Editor are welcome.Signed letters are preferred, but in all cases the writer’s name and address must be supplied. Names will be published unless there is a goodreason for anonymity. The editor reserves the right to edit, abridge or decline letters without explanation. Email to: editor@policeassn.org.nz orwrite it to the Editor at PO Box 12344, Wellington. Letters under 400 words are preferred.Those who abuse holidayhome privilegesI recently stayed in one of the two holidayhomes in Newmarket, Auckland. These arevery impressive two bedroom apartmentsjust a few minutes walk from the NewmarketCBD. They are luxurious, and I expect theyexceed the standard of accommodation themajority of our members would enjoy intheir own homes.I was disgusted with the way this wellappointedapartment had been treated byprevious members who had stayed there.There were several very obvious stainson the carpet and it appeared no attempthad been made to immediately clean themup. Chairs and other furniture had beencarelessly and repeatedly knocked back intothe wall, causing damage.However, the worst example of the abusewas described in a note from the complex’scaretaker.He described how the privilege extendedto all occupants to use the building gym,sauna, spa and other recreational facilitieshad been withdrawn in early 2009 becauseof the abuse of those facilities by some Policeguests.One only has to read the comments in thevisitors’ book that detail the disappointmentof a number of subsequent guests.I am sick and tired of watching a minorityof Police staff repeatedly abusing privilegesand seeing the majority (who appreciate andrespect those privileges) being the ones whocarry the consequences.It is my view that anyone who grossly abusessuch a privilege be:1. Named and shamed - we should knowwho is responsible, and;2. They are disqualified from using Policeholiday homes for a period of four years.When members are aware of the severeconsequence of their abusing our privileges,I am sure they will be discouraged fromruining it for the rest of us. They do notdeserve to have their identities hidden.What does the Association think of this?These are outstanding assets and we allhave a responsibility to look after themfor the sake of other users. I have been inthis job long enough to recall when hardworking officers with young families couldnot afford to take their families on a holiday,but now we have affordable and well locatedaccommodation available to us.Bill Gregory(Napier)Police Welfare Fund Manager Pete Hayesreplies: “The Police Welfare Fund is awarethat from time to time a small minority ofinconsiderate members have abused theexcellent facilities and privileges the holidayhomes afford. While this is very disappointingall members can be assured that the WelfareFund takes an extremely dim view of suchbehaviour and deals with each case withthe appropriate level of censure, whichsometimes involves bans of the type the letterwriter suggests.”Take time to drinkAs I write, I am due to start back at work onfull duties after being on light duties for fourdays, 10 days in hospital and the rest of thelast four weeks on sick leave, all because Ididn’t drink enough…water that is.One month ago I started to feel sick late onenight. Then came the most debilitating painI have ever had – kidney stones!The CT scan showed one on the right 7mmwide and another on the left 3.4mm wide.Nurses who have had kidney stones say itsworse than giving birth (I guess for somewomen the jury will still be out on that).Community Cops, CIB and even a staffmember on leave had to help cover my nightshifts because of the low numbers on shift.(Thanks guys).So, with that in mind, I thought I’d writein to hopefully help prevent others goingthrough what I have gone through andhopefully prevent similar inconvenience tofamilies and the organisation.The pain of kidney stones is excruciating. Itcomes in spasms down the front of the groinwith a constant ache in the kidneys. Thereis no comfortable position to sit, lie or standin and the after-treatment is just as painful.To say the removal of the catheter was akinto having a piece of red hot number eightfencing wire removed from your privates isan understatement. So, if that’s not enoughto motivate readers to drink water I don’tknow what would be.The stones are crystals that are either abuild up of calcium or uric acid and theyform when we get dehydrated. They say weshould take in at least two litres of fluidseach day but my urologist is of the opinionthat police officers may need as much asthree litres a day.There are things that add to our chances ofdeveloping kidney stones. Air-conditioningshould be on humid setting if available. Thestab resistant body armour (SRBA) and theshirts we wear also add to the mix. We allknow how hot we can get in them and thenew shirts do make it more comfortableover all. However, because they are designedto “wick” the sweat away from the body, itworks against our body’s natural coolingprocess.This is something that is not going to changeso we have to work with it, so here’s sometips.• For every cup of coffee or tea you drinkthen drink a cup of water too. Coffee andtea add fluids but also dehydrate.• If your mouth is dry you are alreadydehydrated – start drinking water.• Set your air conditioning to humid if youcan. This also applies in your vehicle.• Use water bottles – constant sipping isa good way to stay on top of your dailywater requirements.• Take off your SRBA whenever it ispractical.• Don’t forget those toilet stops. If youget a call out you may not be able toaccommodate a toilet stop for sometime due to operational requirements.Urinating helps flush the kidneys and thisprevents kidney stones from forming.Disappointingly, I was advised not tomention the influence of the SRBA andpolice shirt on dehydration because it mightupset the hierarchy. I would have thoughtthe welfare of staff would be more importantthan any politically-correct aspect of thismatter.Secondly, anyone in the hierarchy shouldwelcome knowing the effect the SRBA/policeshirts are having on staff so they can advisestaff how to prevent getting ill. I’d havethought that would have been a requirementof the Occupational Safety and Healthlegislation that a good employer would bemindful of and adhere to.G Marshall(Napier)324December 2010