THE SICK AND POOR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 287, 28 August 1908, Page 8

THE SICK AND POOR.

REPORT ON HOSPITALS. OUTDOOR RELIEF. IMPOKTANT -fKO-fOSALS BM)B. VALINTINE. The report of Dr. T. H. A. Valintine (In- ; spec tor-General of Hospitals, and Charitable ' Institutions) was presented to Parliament yesterday. The to tal expenditure for the year \ was Hospitals, £210,780 2s. lid. (increase £24,838 35.); charitable. aid, £104,416 13s. '4d. .(increase £1550 10s. 6d;); total £315,196 16s. 3d. (increase £26,388 13s. 7d.). Thero was a decrease of £1510 in the amount received as voluntary contributions. Dr. Val-intine-suggests a special hospital Saturday, arid Sunday throughout the Dominion, in or- ■<■, der to stimulate voluntary contributions. In , regard to the large increase in' hospital expenditure it is noted that 1639 more patients were treated than in the year, previous.!

.In view of the waste in gas consumption, , absorbent :wool gauze antiseptics, etc.,. ,by nurses, it is suggested that'it will be well to include a question on hospital economics ,in the final State; examination. , The number of beds available in our, hospitals is 2347—at the rato of one bed for every 394 'of the mean population. Thero . were 19,160 patients under treatment in the hospitals during thrf year. The daily average number of patients'was 1403. • Chronic Gases. , ,"Though there is much to bo said in favour of treating chronic and. incurable casek in a special ward in the hospital grounds,"' says Dr. Yalintine, "I am personally against such a scheme, and much prefer such wards being established in connection', with' old men's homes, where "there aro many inmates, slightly paralysed, who badly , netid the ministrations of- a female nurse, rather than' the' rough but well-meant assistance of their, coinmates. No charitable institution'should be yithout;a trained female nurse. 'Moreover,' if the chronic cases be treated in, wards con-, nected with a charitable institution'it would prevent a great deal of hospital abuse. Many people hare no; scruples in allowing their relatives to remain in the'hospital from year's end to year's end without paying the hospital fees, but the same people would make a strenuous effort to keep them from the charitable institutions. . JYLiny of these . patients could be ■ treated _at their' own homes, with, the occasional assistance of a district nurse."-

Cost per Patient. • The.average; daily cost per patient in the four large hospitals was Wellington, 3s. lid.; Auckland, 4s. lOd. j Christchurch, ss. 7id.; Dunedin,_ ss. sd. ■ " After deducting patients'; fees, tho''averages were 3s^; Auckland, 3s. 9}d.; Christchurch, <is. 9Jd;; Dunedin, 4s. 4|d. or a total of 8726 patients-at an average daily, cost of _4s. ■ lid.' The average daily cost per patient in all hospitals was 7s. OJd., and.aftor deducting patients' fees ss. 7sd. A comparison with English hospitals is somewhat "in New Zealand's favour. Outdoor Relief. In regard to charitable aid, Dr. Valin-. tine says that during the coming year he hopes to-devote a good deal of time to investigation'of. the position. "And," he adds, " I'".may yet, be able to convince the people of the. Dominion; that an indiscriminate dol-. ing-out of charitable aid must in the long run have a bad effect on the country at large. . ,7.. Authorities on tho subject agree that the only way to prevent abuse in the administration of outdoor relief is to throw tho whole cost.on the local rates, arid with that end in view tho' Government subsidy for outdoor; relief should ■he withdrawn. If this 'were done, it might .be advisable for, tho Stato to take'over tho children now receiving aid from the I 'bSards. ' It'is ■only''•¥^ght' : arid;fdir ■,to give children the best start in lifo possible; thoy!;a,re recipients of oharityithrough no fault'of their own, and why should they start life handicapped hy contact with pauperism- that is known to be infectious? The sooner they are withdrawn from a bad environment, the citizens are they likely to become. ,i ■■■-.■ ..

" A Surprising Influence." "The children's portion of the expenditure on charitable aid. for the past year ,was £18,394, and the cost of outdoor relief was £38,998, 60 that if the: State took over the care of "the children from the Charitable' 'Aid Boards the stoppage of the Government subsidy of: £19,499 on the £38,998 spent in outdoor relief would mean a loss of subsidy to the Charitable Aid Boards of only 5 or 6 per cent. ; but in return for this the responsibility of the children would be taken oyer by a Department whose special function is the rearing and educating of children amidst the best environments, and. the strongest lever would have been, used in the direction of persuading Charitable Aid Boards to exer:ise a close supervision over'the distribution Df outdoor relief, by making them spend their own money instead of that of other people— a state of affairs that has the most surprising influence upon tho aspect in which most people view charitable aid. I would point out that this loss of revenue to the Charitable Aid Boards by the loss of subsidy on outdoor relief of 5 or 6 per cent, shoiildj by an economical administration on tho part of tho boards themselves, be more than recovered— in fact, it may safely be said'tliat the boards themselves,- as-well as the -Dominion as a whole,' would betho gainers by the scheme." Wellington Hospital.

Several' visits of inspection were paid to the Wellington Hospital during the year. The report states:—"Tho chief trouble during the year'has been the want of proper accommodation for scarlet fever cases. The' present infectious'diseases ward is not only unsuitable, but too near the main building, and it says much for-thd\management that the disease has not spread to tho patients in the latter. It is "hoped that'the new .infectious diseases ward will bo opened shortly., Another great want in .this -hospital is; a' children's ward: the present ward in use is altogether unsuitable. Advantage is being taken of the consumptive shelters and tho wards for chronic and incurable cases. The former has 17 and the latter 40 patients. This ward is always full. ' Tho need for additional accommodation for hospital cases proper has boen.recognised by the Hospital Trustees, and designs have been invited for adding new | wards to the main block. When tho extensions are put into operation it is intended to thoroughly renovate the lavatory accommodation in the main block, which is by no' means what it should be. Rooms' for thirty nurses have, been added in the new wing to-the Nurses' Home. This hospital still retains its name" as one '• of the most efficiently conducted hospitals in the Dominion."