RETRENCHMENT.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20272, 25 June 1931, Page 3

RETRENCHMENT.

HOSPITAL BOARD'S SAVINGS I OVER £34,000 INVOLVED. . Owing to the necessity for reducing its expenditure, the North Canterbury Hospital Board has decided to make certain reductions in its staff and to effect retrenchment in various other ways, the total amount of the saving for the current year being estimated at over £.34,000. At yesterday's' meeting of. tho Board the following letter was received from the Medical Superintendent (Dr. W. Fox): "As the problem of the country hospitals may be exercising your interest, I believe you will be glad to learn that as a result of a rapid visit to all' the country hospitals I can almost pledge myself that they will collectively balance their budgets, provided every means are taken to prevent the revenue derived from fees from falling beyond that of last year. "All tho matrons are striving their utmost to effect economies. Lyttelton cannot balance, because the expenditure must increase owing to tho staff and so-called service accommodation being on the extravagant scale that has been decried in connexion with many of the other country hospitals built some years ago." Economy Committee's Report. The Economy Committee set up at the previous meeting of the Board reported that the expenditure' on the Ohristchurch Hospital and its internal departments had been gone through in detail, and it was anticipated that economies could be effected in the main institution itself amounting to £10,371. Economies in the subsidiary departments were anticipated as follows: — £ X-Eay Department .. .. 350 Massage Department, about ~ 556 [ln this case it was proposed to reduce the staff by three members, the Board being recommended to give these officers a month's salary in lieu of notice.] Tladium Department .. . t 170 Splint Department .. .. 120 Outpatients' Department .. 83 Cardiograph Department .. 65 [To be closed down for tha , present.] Venereal Diseases Department 91 Total ~ .. .. £11,806 Dental Department .. .. 991 [The estimated saving in this department included the saving in the reduction of staff recently made and the ten per cent; reduction in. salaries ' and wages.] Pathological Department .. 590 Country hospitals .. .. 4,777 Tuberculosis institutions (up to the present) ... .. 2,956 Infectious Diseases Hospital .. J>,360 Saving brought about by Arbitration Court judgment .. 971 The estimate for benevolent relief was put down £20,000 as against £24.875, which gave the Board a commencement with £4875 to the good. Tho estimated receipts would show an in-. • ! crease of £2839 .7,714 Reduction in the staff decided at Board's annual meeting 950 Total .. £34,115 Tho amount saved was £3085 below the total saving aimed at. Tho report was adopted. A SOVIET SECRET. ♦— SUITS MADE FROM WORN OUT SOCKS. LONDON, June 14. Fashionable young men of Mayfair are to-day walking into,the best draw-ing-rooms with their nether regions garbed in Russian peasants' old petticoats, and well-darned socks. They did not know it before, but ever since they adopted the craze to appear in the 2s a pair trousers that the Soviet has been making for the world,, people have been wondering how such cheap strides were produced. The secret is out. In Lodz, a tiny suburb of Brezizny, they have gathered discarded petticoats and Englishmen's old socks, a,nd gnarled Russian fingers are unpicking 1 the strands and weaving them into trousers. "We do not. dump them, but sell them at a fair profit," a solemn-look-ing bearded .Brezieny tailor, clothed in an ankle-length coat, told the London "Daily Mail" correspondent. "The more you pay the more wool you get. Two-shilling trousers are of pure ootton, and if you want wool you must jsay 10 to 15 shillings. My dearest suit costs 15s, and you will do no better in Bond street," he added. The petticoats are first sterilised, and the shoddy is used to make doublebreasted overcoats, which are fashionable in Tiondon, at 12s each.