A MILLION MILES

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 3, 3 July 1940, Page 9

A MILLION MILES

"LIFEBOAT OF THE ROAD"

:_'."-£ is quite true to say today, after a "-million miles of running by our cars, that the Free Ambulance has _ome to We looked upon as the 'lifeboat of the road,'" stated the report made by the chairman (Sir Charles Norwood) at the annual meeting, of the Wellington Free Ahibulance yesterday afternoon.

The report stated that during the past year the service attended 12,870 patients and the cars travelled 106,247 miles. Since the inauguration of the service in 1927 assistance had been rendered to 117,038 patients, and the cars, had travelled 1,036,556 miles. Thanks were expressed in the report to the management, the staffs, both permanent and honorary, and ths board, to the Minister of Internal Affairs (the Hon. W. E. Parry) for again permitting the service to participate to the extent of £500 from art union funds, to citizens in all parts of the district who had organised functions in support of the work, to the Ladies**' Auxiliary, and to all who had assisted the service by contributions or otherwise. Special mention was made of the work of the superintendent and secretary (Mr. Fred ROffe), and also to the St. John Ambulance Brigade for providing the honorary staff, which gave 2388 hours of honorary duty during the year. The financial statement showed a loss for the year of £185 16s 3d. Income for the year totalled £6744 5_ 4d (personal subscriptions £751 4s 6d, employees' contributions £1106 Bs, local bodies' contributions, £2748 10s), and expenditure £6930 Is 7d (salaries £3626 17s 3d, motor expenses £1261 Is, depreciation £1414 Is sd). Moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, Sir Charles Norwood said that the Free Ambulance by placing its services at the disposal of all persons throughout the hospital district made available to them, regardless of their place of residence, the whole benefit of the hospital system.

SAVING OF LIVES.

. "We believe that lives have -been saved by the service," said Sir Charles, "and'if we have saved lives then it would not matter if I were putting a much poorer balance-sheet before you than is the case. We must think rather of the service to humanity than of the figures shown on the bottom line of the balance-sheet." Sir Charles commented on the complete absence of serious accidents involving the ambulances and said that that record had brought forth from the Minister of Transport (the Hon, R. Semple) a congratulatory letter. The service had now travelled the equivalent of forty times round the world being involved in any accident sufficiently serious to warrant its being recorded in the newspapers.

'Sir Charles said he was pleased to i>e able to report that the organisation was in a strong financial position. There had been a loss over the year ,of; £185 16s 3d, but there had been a.'slight falling off in some of the returns coming in from various sources.

The treasurer (Mr. J. W. Jack) said there had been a slight loss during the year, but it had to be remembered that many of the classes of goods required by the service (petrol and so on) had gone up in price.

The president of the Ladies' Auxiliary said she had pleasure in handing to the Free Ambulance a cheque covering the final payment on 4 the ambulance presented by the auxiliary. The amount of the cheque was £200, which was more than the sum due on the ambulance, but the auxiliary desired that the balance should be used to pay for the gas •heating system installed in the social hall.

.Sir Charles Norwood expressed the thanks of the board.

."...At a meeting of the board immediiSttely after the end of the annual meeting Sir Charles Norwood was re-elect-Iggt^resident.