ASHBURTON HOSPITAL FINANCE

Press, Volume LXXX, Issue 24152, 11 January 1944, Page 3

ASHBURTON HOSPITAL FINANCE

* STATEMENT OF BUILDING FUNDS A statement of the Ashburton Hospital Building Loan Account of £BO,OOO for the period July 1, 1942, to December 31, 1943, which was presented at the board meeting yesterday showed that the expenditure was £77,239, the principal items being: Nurses’ Home, £12,020; new wards at Public Hospital, £42,470: heating services to new wards and nurses’ home, £8634; 50 horsepower boiler, £2148; kitchen equipment in nurses’ home, £1105; linoleums, £2739; equipment, £3449. A statement of the Building Fund Account from May 1, 1942, to December 31, 1943, showed that the receipts were £12,682 and the expenditure was £5538, including new wards £3145. and mortuary £1043. There was a credit balance of £7144 in this fund. For the nine months ending December 31, the receipts in the general account amounted to £78,152, and the payments totalled £77,551, leaving a credit of £6OO. The average numbers of occupied beds each day for the same period were: Public Hospital 100.5, Malvern Home 9.1, and Arawa Home 3.4.

Reports showed that 131 patients were admitted to the Ashburton Public Hospital in December and 153 were discharged, leaving 86' in hospital at the end of the month. There were 575 out-patient attendances and '125 sugical operations. Fifteen patients’ were admitted and 22 discharged at Malvern Maternity Home before it was closed, and 10 patients were admitted to the new maternity ward at the Public Hospital. There were 75 anti-natal patients during the month. Nurse T. Boddington had completed her maternity training and Nurses Blampied, Botica, Burns, and Rout had begun training. It was stated that £1 10s was received from the Methodist church choir fo fruit for distribution in the hospital at Christmas, while £1 was received from Misses Cameron (Tinwald) and £4 4s from the Ashburton Club and M.S.A., for Christmas cheer for patients. Advice was received of a gift of an invalid chair from the Mayfield subbranch of the Red Cross Society for the use of former servicemen who were patients in hospital. It was decided to thank the sub-branch for its generous gift. The board appointed Dr. A. J. Mason (medical superintendent) and Mrs Mason (radiologist), of the Ashburton Public Hospital, to attend a conference of medical officers on tuberculosis at Dunedin next month.