TRANSITION.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 770, 19 March 1910, Page 13

TRANSITION.

HOSPITALS AND CHARITABLE AID BOARDS. : '■/■■■ FINAL MEETINGS. ; " . HmjEE OF SANATORIUM. The final meetings of the Wellington. District. Hospital ' and Charitable Aid Boards; which give place now to a combined board under the new Act, were held yesterday.. -At the meeting of the Hospital Board Mr. J. P. Luke, chairman,' presided over a full attendance.

The chairman said he much' regTetted statements that had been made in some quarters .regarding the Otaki, institutions. . ■ When certain statements were made by responsible people he considered that the other side of the question should.be put before the public. Ho thought, that the. public, were about sick and tired of this talk of hospital management. They : knew that the. system, had not been ■ the best one, or the new Bill, which 1 he had supported, would not have been brought in. ' Notwithstanding the very. meagre poll for the new board, ho believed that the ultimate result would be good. It was a matter'for congratulation that men of • ripe experience and thorough earnestness in hospital and charitable aid work had been returned. He thought that the new system would tend to cheapen the cost of administration, and that the would be. as good as in the gast. : In defence of. the ..administration of. the Otaki Hospital, the. chairman.quoted the ■ following comparisons; with other .institutions of the same size.— •,.. ■ '-': ' ■■' ■' •..'■■.

An Instructive Comparison. : Average number of patients to each member of ■: the- nursing staff: —Hawera 1.8, Danncvirke. 2, Picton',l.B, ,Otaki 2.7. It could not be said, therefore, that the hospital was/overstaffed. ■■;. ■*■■■' ,

.'.'-. Percentage of cost of- administration to maintenance expenditure:—Hawora 15, Danneyirke 6,1 Picton ,6.4, Otaki 3.4. ;.Mr.:'C. -J. Crawford:-Has there: been any criticism? . . ' ' '. ;

' The;.chairman: Criticisms , have been made' by a member' of the board in a L speech'at Otaki; and I think it is my duty to refute them." He said that there were reasons why the whole thing should, be ' overhauled ■ from' top ■' to bottom, ; as affecting the doctor,. the matron, and the staff. In i justice to them l I am- making theses comparisons. '■ "'' .■'." : .-..■. The relative-value of-the nurses at the various institutions was .as- follows:— Hawera 3 nurses arid 4 probationers, Dannevirke; 3 and 3 probationers, Picton .2 nurses and 4 probationers, Otaki 3 nurses and 1 probationer. -:. ; --..'■ ■.-Daily cost of '-adiiiinistration:— Hawera 9s; 7}d.,per head per patient,' Dannevirke' Gs., : Pjcton ,6s. 4Jd., Otaki 6s. id. .'-. .■; Cost after deductings patients' contributions:—Hawera , 75.. 5d., Dannevirke '55.,' Picton:Ss.;2Sd., Otaki ss. 6Jcl.. Considering that the patients at the, Otaki Hospital included a considerable number of Maoris who were aot : in a position to pay fees, the chairman' thought that this comparison spoke well for.the institution. The- Otaki Sanatorium.^ . With', regard. to.' the , sanatorium, there was no similar sanatorium with which it could be compared, because this was the only.board in New. Zealand that possessed an up-to-date sanatorium, in addition to its hospital. The sanatorium was equal to, and he was told in many respects superior to, the one at. Cambridge.. Certainly it was a most complete Eanatorium. The average number :of patients a day was 25, and the number -to ■ each, nurse was five, which! he thought was very satisfactory.'.-.• The average daily cost : jer head was 4s. • BJd., and average daily payment. 7jd;, -making, the total charge for ■liabilities; after .deducting,.patients',-.'pay-;ment3,'4s.. OJd.. per;head.- The percentage of the cost of administration to maintenance expenditure'was 3J.'iwhioh'.'oo'mpaTed veix favourably -with -.- the'- other' institu--tions named. The beard had had the disadvantage .of breaking new ground, at the sanatorium, and it liad been ■ obliged to admit people who could l not pay their way. There had not been a patient in either tho.- hospital- or sanatorium whose circumstances with regard to his abilityto pay-..had not -been .closely-scrutinised. He thought that the sanatorium ; bad justified:- its. erection. ...Arrangements should be. made for the interchange of patients between the Wellington Hospital and the Otaki Hospital, which was capable of doing more work. Convalescent patients should be transferred to Otaki, where they' would make quicker' progress to recovery. The . sooner the. -doctor's house was erected and .there was. a resident medical officer for the Otaki .institutions the better. He'.thaiiked the members' of the board.for:the; way.in which they had' worked together., for'the best interests of the hospital and sanatorium, and he moved: "That the board place on record its appreciation of the work of; the local Advisory Committee, consisting of Messrs. Simcor (chairman),:' Freeman, 'Jones, and: MT3eth (secretary)." Mr. 'M/Beth had sacrificed his time and even his- private means to a'considerable extent in" helping forward the work of the institutions. ... .■.'■.■ .'■'■:.■■ . ;

Mr.. J.- Smith seconded- the ' motion, which was '■ unanimously adopted. . , ■A hearty vote of. thanks, was passed to Dr. Faulke, of Wellington, who, it was stated, had attended operations at Otaki, paying his own travelling .■ expenses and making no,charge for his services. .'"■; A. Rebate Refused. ,; . '■' .Some discussion took place on a request from the.Horowhehua County Council for the remission-of certain rates owing to the.diminished valuei.of flax lands. Tho chairman was opposed to granting the-request. : ' - ■ ■. ■ > : ; ■Mr. B. R. Gardener thought that o deduction should be allowed. Last year the board levied rates for over .£4OOO for additions to the Wellington Hospital. Part of the money had never been spent, and there ivould be a balance this year. The chairman: The Wellington Hospital Trustees are Betting..£2ooo out of the .£4OOO. • We shall have a credit balance of ■'■. -: : .■■■ - : ■■•; ' . .-, The board, Mr. Luke pointed out, had already remitted ~£320 in cgimection with the taking .'over by the Government of the ■Manawatu railway. : If the. Horowhemia people were to get the rebate now asked for, why should not other districts? Mr., Gardener: Would it not be fair to make a, rebate all round? .. ■■■.-. The chairman: The balance will,go to the new board, and will ■'relieve., the levy next year. , . .• ' . Mr. Smith thought, there was no power to remit rates after they had been once struck. ■'."'■'■. ..'..•■ " ■'■ ■ , A motion was carried, Mr. Gardener dissenting, regretting that the board could not agree to the request, and instructing the secretory to , serve a notice on .the council to pay.. :

The Chairman's Services. Mr. Smith 6aid that the chairman hnd spent a great deal of time in the board's service, and had shown'much public spirit and self-sacrifice. Mr. Luke had done all that was necessary for a chairman to do, and probably more than was done by most chairmen. He moved a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. Luk<j in appreciation of his services as chairman. Mr. Crawford seconded the motion, and .testified to the great amount of time and zeal Mr. Luke had given to tho work. . . ■ ■ , Messrs. G. Prost, B. B. Gardener, and other members added their tributes, and Mr. Luke made.'.suitable acknowledgment. Mr. Gardener, replying to the chairman's 'earlier remarks, said that he had never reflected on either the doctor or the matron at Otaki. Hβ had merely stated, nnd had always maintained, that the , doctors and nurses had too much power in the control of hospitals right through the Dominion. lie had also stated that the Otaki institutions had cost nearly .£12,000 in the last'two and a half years; 'he* had only grumbled at the system finder which the board had had to work. The Horowhenua. district had not been consulted when the sanatorium was placed in its midst. He had stated alt through that the board had not demanded sufficient information from the Health Department regarding satatorium patients. In his Otnki speech, he said that the time was coming very soon when the sanatorium would havo a resident doctor, and it would then be necessary to isolate those, patients, and not

allow them to wander homo when they liked, to spread the disese. There was not one absolute ■ proof of any owe having been effected since , the sanatorium was opened. He would be pleased if the Health Department would take moi'e Interest in the institution. He was not criticising the board's administration. He thought that the sanatorium should be made a national institution, like that, at Cambridge, ' supported wholly and solely by the Government, and he hoped that this would come about when the new board took charge. The people sent to the sanatorium from Wellington came From all parts of the Dominion. Boards like that of Palmerston should be prohibited from building sanatoriums on to their hospitals; they were not necessary. There should be a sanatorium in eacli of the four cities, and they should be national institutions. The Otaki eanatorium wns at once too large and too small, and it was a question whether, when a resident doctor was obtained, it would not pay to transfer some o£ the present Wellington institutions to the Utaki grounds.

Monthly Reports. • It' was reported that sis patients had been admitted to the Otaki Sanatorium during the mouth and three discharged, leaving twenty-five patients (sixteen males females) in the institution. At the Otaki Hospital eighteen patients nad been admitted and eleven discharged, leaving seventeen patients under treatment (eleven males and six females). An extra month's holiday was granted to the matron, Miss Sealey.

Room for Development. ■ Mr. Crawford, who has had direct control of the outside work •in connection with the Institutions, said he considered there were great possibilities in the farm lands- at Otaki. With the limited moneys at the board's disposal very considerable improvements had been made m the groundß. Swamp lands had been reclaimed, , and some of the lands were such a condition that a great'deal might be done with them in the future. He hoped, that the. new board would really develop these lands, and that by utilising the labour of the consumptives and possibly of some or all of the old men that could be drafted from Wellington from another institution, it would be possible.to use them.to the full. Probably the Wellington Hospital could be supplied entirely with vegetables and other produce from the Otaki lands. He was of opinion that the Otaki Hospital should be very little more than an accident ward, and that the convalescent patients should be drafted from the Wellington Hospital to Otaki and kept there till they were really fit to. go out into the world. ! Mr. Crawford moved a hearty vote, of thanks, to the staff at Otab, which was carried unanimously. Mr. Crawford moved a vote of thanks to the .secretary (Mr. Willis), who, he said, had carried out hie work in an excellent, manner. He hoped that they ,would see.him in the t service of the new board. .'..'. : ' . ' . .

.. Mr. Frost .seconded the motion. The chairman said ho hoped and trusted that Mi. Willis would be appointed eecretary to the new board. He was a nian full of energy, thoroughly straightforward, possessed of initiative, and also possessed of valuable experience. ' •■■ A credit balance'of .£1633 Os, 3d. was reported after payment of accounts totalling JE2555 19s. 2d. . .-. " On the recommendation' of the Outstanding Accounts Committee it .'was.'resolved to: wipe'ofit certain patients' accounts; inquire into others, and in other cases''give fourteen days' notice of intention to sue if tho amounts wero not paid. - '■:'■.■■".'. . : • ■ The chairman and • Mr. Devino (treasurer) wero appointed finally to wind up accounts. . "■•. ,■ "

, CHAEITABLE AH) BOABJD. , ; At the meeting of the Charitable Aid Board there were present Messrs. E. C. Kirk.(chairman), W. H. Morrah, and F. ..Cohen.:,"'!-:.-;:.,',-. , . •:■' •.;-, \ ■ .--. ' - A 'credit ". balance of £686 10s.. 2d. wai. reported after, paying accounts totalling .£879.,. ,■■-■ ,v \ ■■;-. -.. •."■ ■■'■-■ Mr. Cohen congratnlated the chairman on his election w the new board, and stated that he thought the citizens could also congratulate themselves.

A short meeting will be held later in the weet for the final winding-up of accounts..':!. . .., ' ..'.'■•■ ." ;, .-,..■