AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 995, 9 December 1910, Page 9

AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION.

A PROPOSAL RESISTED, A meeting of the local centre of the St. John Ambulance Association was held yesterday, Mr. 0. P. Powles presiding. ■ The City Council wrote asking that the ambulance litters now deposited at the Central.and Thorndon fire stations should be removed. A s'ub-committee was appointed to arrange the housing of tho litters and also of the ambulance wagon. The Inspector-General of Hospitals and Charitable Aid (Dr. Valintinc) wrote stating that he was anxious to induce cooperation between public and private philanthropic agencies in the Dominion and in connection therewith a committee had recently been set up to consider such co-operation between agencies in this city. It had been proposed that the society should undertjiko the whole ambulance work of the district in which case, of course, it would be necessary for the Hospital Board to give the society an annual subsidy. The writer was informed, however, that the society according to its rules could licit accept such subsidy. This being the .case, and in order to prevent overlapping, would it be possible for the society to give up its ambulance work leaving it entirely to the Hospital Board and devote its energies solely to the further development of the nursing organisation ? In discussion it was remarked that this proposal struck at tho root of the association's activities. That there was overlapping was denied. Members, without exception, opposod the proposal. The secretary (Mr. J. D. Avery) said he did not think a voluntary body should be asked to give up its work. The association, was on the eve of introducing imnrovemonts. "We are an independent body and we want to be left alone. That is my view of it," said the chairman. I It was resolved: "That this centre does not see it's way to adopt the suggestion to give up its ambulance work."