HOSPITAL TRUSTEES

Evening Star, Issue 12307, 23 September 1904, Page 2

HOSPITAL TRUSTEES

The monthly meeting of the Board of Trustees was held on Wednesday; present—Messrs P. Miller (in the chair), J. Green. S, S. Myers. W. Wills. J. Thomson, E. A. Tapper, J. N. Brown, and M. Sinclair. The House Committee's report, which was adopted, showed the sanitary fittings in connection with the lavatories at the Home had been altered in accordance with the requirements of the Drainage Board at a rest of £2B. Miss Amelia Major, teacher of yalisthenics, offered to give a concert and display in aid of the children’s ward, and the offer had been accepted. Donations of magazines and books had been received from Mr J. F. Mactie, Mr Ross, Mrs T. G. Smith, Mrs Driver, the Rev. Mr Hewitson, Mr Fraser, Mr Buckley, the latter donation coming from the heirs of the late Air Andrew. The Finance Committee recommended payment of accounts amounting to £Bl4 16s 2d, and reported that the receipts for the month had totalled £214 Is 6d, and that £SOO had been received from the Hospital Board for payment of accounts for August; also cheques for £46 2s 2d and £123 2s 6d from the Hospital Board as interest on the Campbell bequest.--Adopted. The out-patients treated during August were 473, against 449 for July. —The Inspector-General’s Report. The Chairman called attention to a clause in Dr MacGregor’s annual report to which without wishing to find fault, ho would draw attention. This was as follows • •Notwithstanding the many advantages conferred on Dunedin Hospital by connection with a Medical School, there are some drawbacks, and one of these I find is that the students ao so much of the surgical dressings and other work in the wards that i fear the nurses have not the same adv intages as the nurses in other training hospitals. There seemed to be, Mr Miller said, a doubt as to in what way the nurses were considered deficient, but he knew that nurses trained in Dunedin had taken positions second to none in New Zealand. Some nurses got into positions for which they ucro never intended, but such cases were l P r MacGregor had said during his visit here that the testimonials given to nurses from medical men were misleading, but he was sure that only nurses well up to their work got testimonials from their house surgeon. He thought inquiries should be made into the matter. It had been said that the students did work that nurses should have undertaken, but he thought that was not the case, for during three or four months of the year students were not in the hospital to ‘ do such work. The Trustees, iio thought, could not accept Dr MacGregor’s statement that the Dunedin nurses were not given the same opportunities as in other hospitals. At the last State examination one of tho Dunedin nurses took the second highest position in the whole colony, but others had left the institution and taken high positions that astonished the Trustees very much. Mr Brown said that students were at the hospital in tho morning only, and the uujT.es did the dressing in afternoons and evenings. Mr Myers pointed nut. that nurses from their hospital received the highest awards for work done in the South African War. Mr Grcon said that nurses from their no’pital Inti been selected by other institu- ' ions iu several cases, but‘Dr MacGregor lid not seem to attach any advantage to tho fact that tho hospital was connected with the Medical School. The statements made by that gentleman were much stronger than necessary, and if an investigation were made it would bo found that their nurses would hold their own against those from ‘dher institutions in this or probably other (ninnies. Mr Sinclair thought Dr MacGregor should hr asked to state distinctly where the training of the nurses was deficient, and in v. liiit direction it micjht be improved. Mr Wills said Dr'MacGregor had spoken (n him on the question when in Dunedin, and when pressed for an example could only refer to one unworthy case out of all • .pi® n j Urses out from their hospital, the doctor thought that nurses sent forward should hold certificates signed by the chairman, secretary, or matron. If the medical staff chose to give certificates the matter rested with them, and he did not see why the hospital should be blamed if •inch testimonials were given to nurses considered by the doctor to Ire unworthy Messrs Wills, Myers, Brown, Tapper, and tho chairman were appointed a committee to draw np a report on the question discussed.