RA HOSPITAL BEDS

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26441, 7 June 1951, Page 3

RA HOSPITAL BEDS

r 20 To Be Provided At Burwood BOARD’S DECISION (After further discussion of the shortIge of beds in the North Canterbury Hospital Board's district, the board, at a special meeting yesterday, decided to proceed immediately with the provision of 120 additional beds at Burwood Hospital. The decision was made after the board had heard the opinions of members of the medical staff, visiting doctors, and board members, written after it had discussed its building programme at a meeting last month. There was some spirited discussion after the letters had been read, some members advocating an investigation of the proposal made in most of them 1 at Burwood be used to provide immediate relief for the accommodation , ortage. letter from Dr. G. L. McLeod, stant-Director of the Hospitals sion. written after a recent visit 'he board’s district, said that the <i'cal Superintendent at the ChristHospital (Dr. A. D. Nelson* °een asked to give a statemen’ many patients, and what type patients, were not able at present to gain admission to the hospital. “Take into use every available beo at Burwood. Restrict the admission of plastic cases to those from the South Island, in view of the units established at Auckland and Wellington, and determine whether still more beds might not be placed at Burwood with the existing services, and also what beds could be added if the services were expanded.” Dr. McLeod suggested. “Keeping the whole of the wards empty against the day of the hypothetical epidemic is not now in accordance with modern public health practice, when cubicle wards are available.

Long-Term Policy As a long-term policy, the provision of the first 240 beds at Cashmere should be expedited, Dr. McLeod said. While that was happening, a survey should be made of the Christchurch Hospital, an up-to-date plan to be furnished of the hospital, and superimposed on it a development plan to Show what maximum advantageous use could be made of the site. Dr McLeod also recommended that the policy of a full-scale general hospital at Cashmere be abandoned. Christchurch, he said, must always be the first hospital, particularly with regard to specialist services. A development plan should be prepared for the Christchurch Hospital, based on the revised medical policy. The policy of building Cashmere, and then attending to Christchurch, should be discarded From the time the Cashmere Hospital was decided on in 1945, to when it was anticipated that the first beds would be available, in 1955, the population of Greater Christchurch would have increased by 40.000, said Mr D S. Dodds. By 1960 there would be an increase on 1945 of 60.000. Until now, Christchurch had been able to manage with a lower rate of beds to each 1000 persons than in other maim centres, only because of the greater facilities provided by two big private hospitals. “From now on," Mr Dodds said, “private hospitals will continue to decrease in their capacity to assist, and we must provide beds at the more normal rate of eight for 1000 of population. That means that from 1945 to 1955 we would need to provide 320 beds, and bv 1960 we must base our proposals on copine with 480 more beds than were provided in 1945. And with the doubt that Cashmere will be completed bv 1960, we must reckon on a further 160 beds being needed by 1965. and so on.

Non-acute Cases “There appear to be too many patients in the Christchurch Hospital who need not be in an acute hospital. To tide over until Cashmere is available, acute beds could be made availabe by removing non-acute cases from Christchurch.” Mr Dodds said. He thought the possibility of enlarging the Jubilee and Taurangi Homes should be investigated, and the possibility of an additional 100 beds at Burwood should also be investigated, added Mr Dodds. The building of Cashmere to its full 450 beds, and of tha training school, etc., should go on. The Christchurch Hospital should be

reconstructed, as soon as the first Cashmere wards were ready. The provision of extra beds at Burwood as urgent and immediate relief of congestion was suggested by Dr. H. Jenner Wales. Cashmere could be considered a long-term policy. Cashmere should be the final main public hospital for Christchurch. The present Christchurch Hospital should be finally restricted to casualty cases, urgent medical and surgical cases, specialists, and a children’s hospital. Burwood should be used as a hospital for infectious diseases, a plastic unit, and a convalescent home.

First priority should be given the immediate provision, probably at Burwood, of at least 100 beds for the chronic sick and the aged, said Dr. M. K. Gray. Cashmere should be given, second priority, and Christchurch third. Dr. W. Mark Brown’s advice was for the board never to lose sight of the Cashmere project, and to implement the bed position as suggested by Mr J. m to At l^e previous meeting, Mr Will had classed the nursing sick under following headings: (a) the acutely sick, requiring urgent skilled medical and nursing attention; (b) those requiring skilled nursing services, but only daily or weekly mediattention; (c) those requiring “med nurs ms but only occasional medical supervision; (d) those requiems unskilled nursing of the domesup .type, with only rare medical supervision.]

Chronic Cases Th® Christchurch Hospital could eater for the present major medical •tmgtcal needs of the city, proaia 6 * 1 . 1 all long-term cases which .not require special investigations or other special services could be transtrr®d , £ome other institution, said Richard Donald. There was, he “io. an urgent need for the erection Ma minimum of 200 beds for long~rm and chronic illnesses, preferably « Burwood. There was also a most urgent need for the construction of a aecond general hospital. uurwood should be used as soon as possible for 100 to 150 class “d” pahaa ’ Dr - N - F - Boag- The possi°f accommodation at the Jubilee uome and at the Sanatorium should be .h Ve ,j^ ated - an< l the Government urged t 0 complete St. Helens y> to relieve the maternity unit at Burwood. /pP l ® hoard’s director of pathology wnL'i. -T. Stewart) said he wished to asise the fundamental importance Mr Will’s classifications. It was apin determining the size ■d subdivisions of the Cashmere beds cJassificat' 11 been taken of those ih?P.Durban hospital scheme had £“® to commend it. said Dr. F. O. “ennett. The building of a major a , Pdal at Cashmere was inevitable ennia e grew. Nevertheless, it at th pro hably be deferred for a time, the progress of medicine tended to case more beds available for acute

ltv? ucb factors which tend to save ves and make people live longer „J?J® an increasing bottleneck in inm the older age groups,” Dr said. “Social medicine, houstE® .shortages, the cost of living, the of the school leaving age. and the 1 1 ?.,j eas tngly migratory habits of SaK * dren of aged people make such wients dependent on the hospital wher than thg f am iiy Such factors continue. It would seem that the problem, S9J® ®s it is at the moment, will in'ntably get worse. I would hope, werefore. that the board will let the ~a«®iere project proceed, but as se*®tty against the future, rather than jn urgent necessity for the moment, •ott important is the creation of a Sjuinium of 150 beds for chronic pa“ents. Even this, in a few years, will Probably be inadequate.”

_ . Classification of Beds M^?i V K, ion °f the use of the beds now •vauable should be considered before jjytlung else, said Dr. T. Morton, the ♦v n .t Medical Superintendent at ' c £Christchurch Hospital. the admission of all patients to Tuathe Jubilee Home, and to the

chronic beds at Burwood should be supervised by one individual, he said. A hundred chronic beds, on the present methods of selection—which were poor—would mean a turnover of 150 chronic patients a year, assuming that their average stay in hospital was 35 weeks as it was at present at Burwood. That would be a great help, especially if 40 0r.50 of those beds could be devoted to long-stay orthopaedic patients. The Medical Superintendent at the Christchurch Hospital (Dr. Nelson) said the problem facing the board was the provision of about 100 beds to look after the more chronic type of patient. “In my opinion this would nest be done by building two wards from the Public Works plan, plus ancillary services at Burwood, as soon as possible.” Dr. Nelson said. “I would also recommend the addition of another ward at the Jubilee Home.” The reports heard needed analysing by a committee of specialists, and condensation to a simple summary to advise the board what to do. and he would move that that be done, said Mr C. G. McKellar. “No More Sub-Committees”

“We want no more sub-committees,” said Miss M. B. Howard. “What are we here for? To delegate our jobs to sub-Committees?” “If war came to-anorrow, there would be a hospital almost overnight,” continued Miss Howard. “It is as necessary here now as it would be in war-time. The consensus of opinion is that we should build immediately at Burwood. I think we should go all out, without any more investigation, and without any more blooming architects. I’m sick and tired of going back to architects and being held up by their drawing and re-drawing. Of course they make a good thing out of it. I could blow that one wide open. I know what architects’ costs have been. We should move heaven and earth until we get 100 extra beds at Burwood.” Mr McKellar's motion lapsed for want Of a seconder, and Mr D. MacMillan moved that the board proceed immediately with the building of 120 beds at Burwood on the Ministry of Works plan. Dr. Nelson said four wards was a bit ambitious. He would rather see one block of 60 beds, and another at the Jubilee Home. “Before we can go ahead with any building plan we have to get the Health Department’s concurrence,” said Mr A. Prentice, the board’s secretary. “We must ask for permission to build at Burwood, and while we are getting that we could carry out the investigation they have asked for. If we are to add 120 beds to Burwood, it will take, 75 nurses or more, another nurses’ home, extra cooking. . . Miss Howard: Let’s do nothing. z An amendment by Mr H. A. Bennett, that the board proceed with securing an additional 60 beds at Eurwood, and that if possible the infectious wards be improved to take other cases in addition, immediately, was lost, and Mr MacMillan’s motion was carried without dissent.