HOSPITAL BOARD WRANGLE

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2752, 22 April 1916, Page 7

HOSPITAL BOARD WRANGLE

THOSE EMPTY WARDS , fO BE RETAINED FOR CHILDREN : A LIVELY MEETING PROPOSED NEW £9000 WARD s Big levies The question of the use or nowise of the unoccupied wards in the Children's Hospital for'other than ohildren patients was. debated at the monthly meeting of the Hospital and Charitable Aid 'Board on' Wednesday. The subject was introduced by the reading of a letter from the Soltoitor-Qenera'l stating that "a complaint had been mad© that the. board proposed to use a portion of the children's ward at the. hospital in : breaoh of trust, under which moneys /or the erection of that ward TOre subscribed, and requesting p to be informed frhat the board is proposing to do, so that the ' Attorney-General can consider whether it is his duty as representing the pubHc to take steps to prevent any such proposal." • . On the letter being read the chairman (Mr. H. Baldwin) said that on the rejeipt of the letter by the Hospital Com- '. alittee they at once wished to know the berson who had waited on the AttorneyGeneral, and to do Mr. Van Staveren credit, he at once stated that he was the . person, and had'done so on. the advice of the Chief Justice, to whom he had api)lied for an injunction to prevent the >oard acting on its 'last resolution (when t was decided by a majority vote to use the empty wards for ophthalmic cases). The chairman,'Continuing,'said that Mr. Van Staveren must have known that it was,quite unnecessary, to attempt to 6top suoh a : proceeding, seeing that ho had tabled a notice of. motibn, and that no- ' thirty could be done "until that notice of motion-was disposed of.'- The committee decide! . that, as" the Minister had been informed of the matter verbally, it .was only right that the board. should, make a verbal explanation to him,-so Messrs. Van Staveren, Luke, and himself had ; waited on Mr. Herdman lasrt Monday. They gave, the Attorney-General all particulars as to the amount of money the hospital cost, and told him that the public had subscribed only «£7oooj which had been subsidised by the Government by < Yn amount over 328000—'the cost of . the i juilding. was ,£II,OOO, and the rest had ' >een expended in equipment. He Minis- 1 ier had also been told the number of -1 children attending the hospital. i "Piffle!" '' - ' ' i "After I had given this information," j Baid Mr. Baldwin, "my friend Mr. Van' j Staveren v had said that it was 'all piffle/ i but it is known that anyone opposed to t mm might expeot sorno such remark. 1 What I do object to-was the manner in t .which he insulted .three members ; of the 1 board. As .the,result of'the. interview 1 Mr. Herdman stated, that in' hi> opinion ' 'we.ought to obtain an opinion from our jolicitor as to the- action to .be pursued, (is he, as a friend, might have t advise £ igainst; us." t ; 1 c Dn All ,Fours With Government's Action. * Mr. Baldwin pointed out that it was ' proposed only to make temporary use of ' the building, and it : was only' a similar 1 action to that of the Government in tak- ? ing over the Victoria Ward (Home for Chronic • Invalids) for military patients. 6 That ward had been praotically built P and equipped in. the same manner—by ' publio subscription'.: The wards in the' J Children's Hospital were lying idle, and * it was!only.'to relieve the...strain .on the General Hosptal that tho change was sug- 8 gested, , c Mr. 'Baldwin, said - he' had: : . been very 6 much surprised to find,'after the interview, that, the whole of the business witt ■ the -Minister, had been 'conveyed ,to the " oublio through the Press before the mem. u jiers of the board knew'anything about !t n

Mr. Castle: It was. a .breach of faith. Mr. Baldwin: It was a breach of confi. dence, _if not a breaoh of. faith, to di'vnlge information that was "in committee. ~i

"Relics of Fossilised Prlmltivity.l" ' The Eev. Van Staveren said he depre- . cated what had been done an'd deprecated himself on having had to do it. In order to prevent the Children's Hospital from being used for purposes for which it was n<)t originally intended he had made his • mind up, come what might, to see the children secure in the\possession of the building. When he heard what had gone on last month he was.astounded, and he deemed it his duty to see it through, . so,he went to the Chief Justice, who had advised *'him to go to the Attorney-Gen-eral. He wrote'the facts for the Attor-ney-General—nothing more. He asked aid in _ staying proceedings;" but when Mr. Baldwin said how the Hospital had been built,, that it was a matter-for the board, n "d now much room was. there,\he had said that it Was a lot .of piffle. It was i aspect of the thing they want- • ed. Was it legal oi\was it not? -"Then," said Mn Van Staveren, "I told them that for a long time past two or three relics of fossilised primitivity had been trying to ruin the Hospital. . . . I d'id not say they were as assiiiine as Balaam's partner—-!" . ■• . Mr. F. T. Moore: Sir, I' rise to a point of order. I. will not have him calling me an ass. ' . j^ r - Van . that he / (Mr. Moore) was not one of the gentlemen -referred to as relics of fossilised primitivity.r Continuing, he said that tho two wards in the: ■ Children's Hospital provided, room - for 44 children. Then . there were three little rooms, really observation rooms. • So that there were only 44 beds. Yet, on March, -7, there were 57 ( children in the wards. "May I tell you," said Mr. Van Staveren dramatically "that in March, a very not- month, we lost eighteen children— eighteen children died in the month of March! Had these rooms been ready, we might have saved one or two of them. Mrsi. MLaren had/told him .that the heat in the wards was very oppressive, and the cots were standing with the hot sun pouring on. the poor little darlings, , that she had called the doctor who had ' P u ', ? p?™. the blinds., The matron, too, -i had told him that tho upstairs rooms should be used.' There was no timo to ■.lose—those rooms.must be put in order i o-day or to-morrow ready for the oh.ildjen. ; _ ' '•-The said that they must have an ophthalmic ward. It was necessary, S ? thought that it was right that tney- should borrow, the money and start forthwith, but the Children's Hospital was -b. tsaored trust and should not he diverted from its original purpose. Mr." C. M. Luke said that it took a gTeat artist to paint himself, and Mr. »an Staveren had done it very well in referring to the three fossilised gentlemen, for one. of the most fossilised arid ancient was Mr. Van .Staveren. In the last nve or sis years Mr. Van Staveren had developed a crust as thick as a rhinoceros and he did not believe it possible to' penetrate it. He had-thought Mr Van ataverenV conduct before tho At. • torney-Gensral ihost unbecoming. As-re. gards the Children's Hospital case it was on all fours with military men being placed in the Victoria Hospital. If it were a breach of ; trust to occupy wards that had been empty for five or six year 3, what was tho case when the Gov. . ernmont cowmandooreil the Victoria Hos. pital? No cno fla-'l cast an adverse vote against it. ,He did not think tho position at thj Hospital was as had been-- represented: Thero wero only forty-three p'ttionts in the Children's Hospital at tfiat niomeat, whilst thero were large. verandalis arid sun rooms; which were in 'many cases preferable to the wards insid*. He did not propose to go to the lengta of lighting the case in the law courts, though .there was no certainty that the, judgment would go against them, as these were abnormal ■ times, and only temporary occupation had been proposed.

Mr. F. T. Moore said that there •wore a large nuiriDar of children in the hospital whj>3© attendant there was regrettable. The hospital wafi becoraingjtoo big.'' The amount of money nesdeH was aiwaj*B in»

| creasing. Here he noticed anoth«r increase of 80 jper cent, in the levies. - They could do without an ophthalmic ward, Why was the Children's Hospital too big? Why, one lady went as far as to say that it ought to be flllod—gather the children from the streets to fill it. The neglect of mothers was largely the causo. Why should they havo scorn hurled at them? There'had been talk of pifflo— tlio greatest piffle had been talked by Mr. Van Stavereri, with his exaggerated talk of the sweetnoss, and innocence of children. One of the bodies he' (Mr. Moore) represented could hardly stand up under the burden of taxation—cqiiM hardly raise its last quarter's premium, and now it found another SO per cent, added on. to it. It was always an increase in money. Why should they pay this money? Tho mothers should look after their children.—therewas no better jiurso than a mother!" '

The Hospital Committee's report (published elsewhere) was adopted,

Mr. Van Stavereri's Motion,

Tho'ohairaan then called on Mr. Van Staveren to move his motion, which read as follows i— ■

"Tlrnt the following resolution, adopted by the board at its meeting held on March 23—That the board reconsider its decision with regard to utilising the upper story (at' present unused) of the Children's Hospital, and that it be immediately fitted up as a temporary ophthalmic ward'—bo rescinded.

In seconding the motion, Mrs. Wilford said that the spare wards might be used for children who were suffering from infantile paralysis, as she understood that after a fortnight infection ceased. Then the wards could be used for diphtheria oases.

Dr. Platts-Mills asked that the medical superintendent be allowed -to make a statement relative to Mr. Van Staveren's .statement' about the eighteen deaths in March.. . ■

Mr. Van Staveren: "I said that eighteen children had died in March, and that thero were on occasion 58 cases in the-Hospital, when there was only room for U: I did not say .that any one child had died through nsglect, but had the rooms been used one or two might have been saved. 1 - '

•Dr. iMorico (acting-medical superintendent) stated that of the eighteen cases, soven were moribund ivhon -they came in, one had died within two hours, and another in three or four hours after admission. One died in less than two' days, and another in less than four days. Some of the deaths- were due to accident, and were quite hopeless when admitted. ' Questioned by Mr. Baldwin, Dr. Morice said there were 44 beds, and, with the side rooms, accommodation for 50 cases, quite apart from the verandahs. The ohairwan said that of the 57 patients in the. Hospital on March 7, soven were convalescent, and would have been in the Macarthy Convalescent Home had it been ready. Mr. I\ Castle' deprecate the erroneous an alarming state of things hinted at, for the only inference Mr. Van Staveren wished to draw was that it was duo to bad management. What other reason had he to bring it into the argument at all? As to the use of the wards for infantile ' paralysis cases, they asked - the medical superintendent's opinion some time ago, and his reply was a strong objection on medical grounds. He noticed that 9. nrase who was on the honorary staff had. been writing to the papers'ori the point, which ho considered a reflection on the medical superintendent. There ivould be no danger from infection frim oph T thalmic oases, and danger of syphilis was very small.' Dr. Platts-Mills: "Nil." Mr. Castle: "It was then in the third stage of the disease, and under ordinary conditions was not communicable m). others." He was sorry Air.' Van Staveren had not been fair in his arguments, and had made a distinct breaoh -of standing orders in making- use of . a document." Another sample of the attitude assumed in order to win the case was to produce effects by seeking arguments against instead of arguments" for. He thought the matter had been thrashed out, and he would support the motion to be moved by Mr.

Mr. Moore said that as it was a, foregone conclusion that the motion would be carried they would lose no time, and should get the cots in. - .

' Mrs. Wilford: "They're there already!" - Mr. Baldwin pointed out that if- they were to have children upstairs they would need more staff.

Mr. Luke said he would support the motion rather than allow the case to goto the law courts, arid have the case given against them. .What they had done was at the instance of the honorary ophthalmic staff.

Mr. Van Staveren thanked' the board, and especially .Mr. Luke, for having dealt with him so lightly. The momentous motion was than put, and carried on the voices.

What to Do. \ . ' Mr. C. M. Luke then moved the following resolutions, without notice:— (a) That the Hospital committee be instructed to consult with the architeot and examine all proposals and drawings' now in possession of the board, such having been prepared for the erection of an ophthalmic wa*d and theatre over Ward i, or such other'site as in its opinion may be considered preferable., ■ ■ . (b) That the Finance and Property Committee confer with the Hospital Committee and take into consideration ways and to provide for the erection' of such ward and theatre as this board may'decide upon. The committees to bring own their reports for the next meetiug of this board. , (o) The said ward and theatre to be erected forthwith. In protect, Mr. Moore pointed out. that the cost of the building had been set down .long ago at .£8750, but it would cost another iIOOO now as there had been a rise of from 25 to 35 per dent, in building material. It could not be legally moved without notioo. > The chairman: I rule that it is new business and can be moved. . Mr. Moore: Notice should be given to give us air a. month to think over it. Members .of the board were being influenced by their sentimental hearts and not their heads. This expenditure, too, was. mainly on behalf of the wealthy people. If it were for the working people he would not object. Once again he pro-tested-that the country bodies could not stand the strain of the. ever-increasing burden placed upon them by the hospital levy. Mr. Monk (Horowhenua) 6aid that as representative of the second highest contributing body he agreed to a great extent with the last speaker. The ophthalmic patients had his sympathy,' and the health of .the. community had to be considered, but as Mr. Moore had said it was tho last straw that broke the camel's back. As far as Horowhenua was concerned iir 191H they had paid .£I2OO, today thoir contribution ims Jl3ooo. Some people sav that it was owing- to the increased valuation, but that was not so, as their valuation was ,£II,OOO less last year than before, and tho levy had increased by £100. He would like to say now the motion not to use the Children's Hospital was carried,. that they should not run the board into ' ospense. It would be better to let the rooms remain unoccupied. Whilst sympathising with Mr. Luke he thought the erection of new building "a drastic waste of money," and must oppose it. Mr. Freeman strongly objected to Clajise 3. Mr. Luko agreed, to strike out the clause in question, and in the amended form the motion was parried on tho voices. A Big Increase. Mr. J. W. M'Ewan pointed out that the increase in expenditure for the current year amounted to ,£3!) GO. In view of tho extraordinary increases from year to (year ho believed there should be a thorough inquiry into hospital management and construction. Ho had always objected to the alteration of Ward *4, and wished to know where they were going to put the patients from that ward whilst the new part was being erected. Mr. Baldwin (smiling): I'd put them in the Children's Hospital if I had 'the chance. Mr. J. W. M'Ewan urged a "go-slow" policy, and the Rev. J. K. Elliott said there was no need for any precipitaucy, The Levy—£2B,77s. ■•Mr. P. Castlo (treasurer) formally moved the resolution adopting the levy of ,£28,770, and the allocation'of that amount between the loc-al bodies. In doing so he anticipated that there would be the usual outcry against them, but everyone must see that when the num. bar of patients increased tsconditure

must increase. Then there was the ris< in the cost of material and goods. He pointed out, too, that formerly they got a Jil for £1 from tlie Government; to-day it was 16s. 3d., and in that regard they were at a disadvantage compared with Auckland. The difference meant ,£25,000 this year. It was time .some action was considered, for as fni tho Hospital and Charitable Act was concerned an injustice had been done the taxpayers' of Wellington. Tho motion wae passed on the voices. The Allocation. Tlio following is the allocation;— 1915-16. 1916-17. Ijocal Authority. i£ s. d. £ s. d. Wellington City Oouncil : 16,720 0 0 18,272 14 0 Ilorowhenua County Council 2,713 10 4 3,110 2 0 llutt County Council 1,487 11 '4 1,712 0 0 Makara County Council 632 4 0' 713 6 0 lower Hutt. Borongh Council 1 1,083 12 4 1,253 18 0 Petone Borough Council 1,000 11 4 3,156 0 0 Miramar * Borough Council 663 16 0 652 4 0 Karori Borough Conn- , cil 380 6 8 442 2 0 Ousloiv Borough Council 411 9 4 476 ,8 0 Levin Borough Coun-' ,cil ..., 222 16 0 259 2 0 iastbourne Borough . - / Council 141 14 4 .162 17 0 Oohnsonville Town Board 143 6 4 199 18 0 Upper Hutt Town Board 170 1 8 199 17 0 Otaki Town Board ... 144 1 4 164 12 0 I 24.815 0 0 28,775 0 0