HOSPITAL BOARD.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 8963, 29 November 1894, Page 5

HOSPITAL BOARD.

The ordinary meeting of the North Cam . terbury Hospital/ Board was held at 10-30 a.m. yesterday, when there were T Messrs W. Moore (Chairman), J. R, H. Parish, U. M. Gray, H. Y. Widdoweon, W. Danlpp, and E. Mulcook, Apologies were made for the absence el Messrs W. Boag and 3. Rennie. - -. . The Chaibmah reported that —* •• Ott- • taking office »asfc year immediate steps were taken to effectually carry out the , r of the previous Board in the erection of the Nursea' Home, which had been «omewhfct~ V delayed offing to a difference that existed ~> with regard to the matter of site. The / result would be the posawaion of the most substantial and conjmodions Nurses' Home . in the colony, and a credit to the district.Energetic measures were taken to collect ' subscriptions, which, with the aid of tjhe s.B. ' Gothic, garden fete, concerts, and other media, had resulted in nearly £1850 being obtained up to the present; that, with subsidy, had enabled the Board to keep up its progress payment*, and the Government had intimated that the £600 special grant wa»s now available. The Board desired to ex. press its sincere gratitude to all who hail assisted in supplying the means towards erecting this most needed institution. The pressing necessity for greater accommodation of patients, owing to increased numbers requiring admission, induced the Board to confer with the members of the Legislature of the district, prior to the late session of Parliament with the object of obtaining their support in an application for a special grant foi? building a new wing to the Hospital, aud ft. - deputation of the Board proceeded to Wellington and interviewed, (jte Premier, with the Hon. W. P. Beeves. Although coaling oat a strong case and supported by all the - Canterbury members, the deputation was. •- unsuccessful in moving the Government/id - being intimated that a Bill would be introduced that session to enable Boards to levy' on Local Bodies for building purposes. The Bill, however, was not found favor with, but £1500 had since been voted towards assist- "_" ing the Board towards its object. Plana .' and estimates for -lighting the Hospital . wtth electricity were obtained from a lead- - ing firm in England, and were ready lojr

fnll consideration should the new Board decide to carry out that most desirable medium for lighting. The: Board desired to. acknowledge the valuable services rendered by the Honorary Staff in their constant visits, and the gratitude of the Board was also duo to the Ladies' Visiting Association for their kindness in alleviating the necessities of patients requiring assistance in various ways, also to those many ladies and gentlemen who have bo materially conduced to the comfort and relief of the patients by providing concerts and other amusements. The Akuroa Cottage Hospital has been successfully carried on, and the Casual Ward at Lyttelton has proved of much service in many instances. During the year sixteen- meetings of the Board and thirty-two of the House Committee have been held, and it is pleasing to record that the staff as a whole have been most assiduous in their duties, and worked with harmony throughout. The financial position of the Board at present is as follows :—Contributions due from local bodies, £1772 7a 3d; subsidy thereon, £1772 7s 3d; subsidy applied for, £713 10s lid ; grant Nurses' Home, £500; total, £4758 5s sd. Against this there were liabilities for ordinary Hospital purposes of about £700. The total cost of the Nurses' Home building would amount to about £4500, of this £3000 had been paid on progress certificates. £150 still remains to be collected, thus raising the total subscriptions to £2000, which, with subsidy and grant, would cover the outlay. The House Surgeon reported—" During -the twelve months from October, 1893, to November, 1894, 1279 patiente were admitted into the Hospital. Of these 84 died and 1194 were discharged, leaving 99 in the Hospital on November Ist, Of the 84 deaths no less than 24 occurred within seventy-two hours after admission. During the year 367 operations were performed under anaesthetics. In the out-patient department 3222 attendances were registered; besides these 236 casualties were treated in the out-patent department. It will be seen that both the numbers of in-patients and out patients have increased, also the number of operations, while the death rate has diminished from 7.3 per cent, to 6.4 per cent. This lessened death rate may iv great measure be credited to the careful attention of the nursing staff and to various improvements in the wards, which improvements, although slight in themselves, together tend to make the patients' surroundings more comfortable. Miss Maude and her staff have given mc loyal and efficient support during the last year. I regret that some of the nursing staff have, at various times, gone on the sick list. This, however, is chiefly owing to the state of their present sleeping rooms, and will be remedied when they can occupy the new Home. A new operating table, nitrous oxide gas apparatus, electric batteries, * &c, have been obtained for the operating theatre, which i 3 now one of the best fitted in the colonies. During the year several concerts have been given to the patients, and some of the bands have given sacred concerts on Sunday afternoons in the Hospital grounds. ,. The reports were adopted. .The Cβ AIBMAN reported that they were being sued by the Auckland Board tor the maintenance of a patient, and it was decided to place the case in the hands of the Board's solicitor to defend. The Board, the Chairman said, had always endeavoured to act in a reciprocal way with other Boards regarding patients from, different .districts, and that waa the first time they bad been sued. .

The tender of Messrs Turvey and Son for £33, for constructing drains at the Nurses' Home, was accepted. The Board then adjourned.