Lack of money hits hospital services

Press, 14 August 1980, Page 4

Lack of money hits hospital services

A shortage of finance is hampering the work of three important treatment areas run by the North Canterbury

Hospital Board — the Christchurch Hospital orthopaedic department, the hypejbaric unit at The Princess Margaret Hospital, and operating theatres at the Christchurch Hospital. The hyperbaric unit, which uses the South Island’s only recompression chamber, will have its proposed treatment sessions curtailed because of what the medical superintendent-in-chief (Dr R. A. Fairgray) said yesterday was the "very extravagant use of medical and nursing staff” required to extend work with the chamber. Volunteer staff have been used since the unit began work eight month ago.

Dr F. M. Davis, senior lecturer in anaesthesia at the Princess Margaret Hospital, said in a report to the board yesterday that the work of the unit was severly hampered by serious nursing shortages at the Hospital, and this forced the unit to use volunteer staff.

Proposals to develop a national centre based on the

unit were ruled out by Dr Fairgray, as well as any extension of treatment. "This is the most unpleasant decision I have had to make since I have been in my present post, as I realise the financial implications of extending the service cannot be met at present,”, he told a meeting of the board’s health services committee. A review of the use of operating theatres at the Christchurch Hospital has shown that their extended use is possible but without extra finance to employ more staff this cannot be put into practice. If there was more moeny available for two additional theatre teams, of about nine people, a further four or five operating sessions could be held each week. The curtailment of other services at the Christchurch Hospital was suggested by the medical superintendent of the hospital (Dr D. A. , Andrews) as one way in I which money might be ! found to employ six more ■ nurses who were urgently ; needed to meet the needs of the orthopaedic department. > Dr Andrews’s request for the extra nurses was first reported to the board more) Jthan a month ago.

Once the orthopaedic department moves to old wards, now being renovated, in about six weeks, three separate nursing teams, instead of the present two, will be required. The present orthopaedic department is in the 67-year-old Chalmers block marked for demolition to make way for the $25 million, stage three redevelopment of the hospital. The old department pro-i vides 80 orthopaedic beds, I but two of the old wards can take’ only 60 patients and a third ward will have to be brought into use. “There is no way that the remaining 20 patients will be left in the Chalmers block. Staff feel strongly that orthopaedics have top priority at the Christchurch Hospital,” Dr Andrews said. An “in camera” report on how the board might solve the problem of relocating its orthopaedic patients has been prepared by Dr Fairgray. This report has to decide which of the old temporary wards will be used to provide the 20 remaining orthopaedic beds because the Government has told the board that no finance will be available to build a temporary ward.