Hospital Board

Cromwell Argus, Volume LXI, Issue 3161, 4 May 1931, Page 6

Hospital Board

The monthly meeting of the board was held in the Cromwell Hospital on Thursday, iOth, inst., at 2 p.m., there being present Messrs }. Ritchie (chairman), \V. Jelley, D. S. Middleton. S. A. Stevens, ' (.'. Weaver, J. MeKnight, and G. T. Alexander. Dr Austin, Medical Superintendent, also attended.

The Nurses and Midwives Registration < Board advised that the board's application for its hospitals to be recognised as grade "B" training schools had been considered! at the last meeting of the Registration Board when it was decided to request the Department of Health to report as to the suitability of the hospitals for training- schools. The Director-General of Health for. warded the approval of the Hon. tho Minister of Health for the board incurring by way of hank overdraft a sum not exceeding j£i;.ooo for the first quarter of the nresent financial vear.

The Director-General of Health advised that under Section 7 (2) of the Finance Act. 1931, a ten per cent reduction in the amount of Government Subsidy payable to hospital boards would come into effect from Ist April, 103 r. and the Hon. the Prime Minister has .stated that hospital boards are ex petted to follow the example set by the Government and reduce salaries and wages of all employees by ten per cent. The letter was received and after soma discussion the board decided to make reductions dating from 1-4-3' ' n the salaries and wages paid to certain omployee« but excluding the salaries paid to probationers. The Hospital Boards Association wrote informing the Board that the next General Conference had been fixed for the first week in February, 1031, at Timarii.

The Otago Hospital Board forwarded accounts totalling £5 16s owing- for Uio maintenance of two Vincent district /patients in the Dunedin Hospital. The Board's Solicitor reported that of the maintenance accounts handed over to him for collection he had collected .£3Ol 8s 2d during- the current financial year.

The Treasurer reported that for the month ended 15-4-31 the Board's Receipts were ,£844 2s o<] ; payments £'»2i is 0 d ; and there was a debit balance at date of £ioo ns od. The Matron. Dunstan Hospital, reported (hat during March 7 patients vmvo. admitted. 5. were discharged, 1 had died, while n remained for farther treatment on 31-3-31. The Matron Cromwell Hospital, re--ported that 7 patients were admitted during March, 15 were discharged, and 5 were under treatment at the end of the month.

It was decided in view of the suspension for two weeks of operations unuer the Unemployment Board's scheme No. 5 to employ two men at tiie board's expense at each of its institutions.

• Th ? "chpdulo of accounts and salaries totalling £621 os 4d was passed lor payment.

lhe secretary reported that during the year just ended the number oi patients treated in the board's institutions wasr—Dunstan Hospital, 165 - Cromwell Hospital, 228; as against ujo and 264 for the corresponding period last year. Tiie treasurer reported that as he Had not received certain figures from the Department of Health he was unable to complete the board's estimates lor the ensuing year but had aimed at the approximate lew and subsidy required on the basis of the same figures for the previous rear. He estimated the levy and subsidy thereon to be as follows with that for the previous year shown for comparative purposes 111 parenthesisMaintenance levy maintenance subs.dv (£23;: \ ,j capital levy (nil) £ l2 o 10s • capital subsidy (nil) y; 120 It was decided to leave the completion of the board's estimates i„ the hands of a sub-committee consisting of the Chairman. Messrs Weaver and Stevens and the treasurer, with power