HOSPITAL AFFAIRS

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 November 1926, Page 5

HOSPITAL AFFAIRS

3 THE FINANCIAL POSITION. A REASSURING REPORT An interim report upon the financial position, made last evtiiilhg tb the Grey Hospital Board by Mr. W. A. Keeble (acting Secretary), who is on loan by the Department of Health, Wellington, for the purpose of investigating the Board’s position, gave pleasure to members. Owing to indis 1 - position, Mr. Keeblo was hot present personally, and his report was redd by the Chairman (Mr. J, W, Itanhah), The figures were as follow, loan moneys and general accounts being regarded as one:—Balance, 1/4/26, £561)0 4s 3d; receipts, 26/11/26, £21,946 ISs 2d; payments tO 28/11/26, £21,769 11s lOd; subsidy £5,468 Os 8d; balance ill hand at 29/11/26, £11.245 4s sd. The Government advance recommended by the Department (which should be lodged shortly) was £ 3,00(). The unexpended balance of loan money to bo transferred to a. separate account Was £ 12,994 6s sd, leaving a balance in the general account, after opening up the loan account of £1,250 18s. It appeared, stated Mr, Keeble, that the year would close with an expenditure of approximately £l,OOO in excess of the estimates. The receipts should about equal the amount estimated. He had found no defalcations of cash. On the contrary, everything pointed to the secretary (Mr. M. J. Thomson) being a very honest man. He had not investigated the position regarding the stores. The necessary superannuation forms had been sent forward with one or two exceptions which would be dealt with as soon ns the required information came to hand. The Acting-Secretary wished to record his heartfelt thanks for the kindness and consideration of the Medical Superintendent and Matron in the performance of their duties. It had been a pleasure to work with' them. He also wished to thank the Board members and the Hospital staff in general for courtesy and help , readily extended. Before he left for Wellington, he hoped to place on the Board’s tiles and in the Board’s books a complete statement of the Board's , financial position as nt November 30. The Chairman said that, owing to , the books not being up-to-date, it ; had been thought that the accounts J were in a very serious condition. The ’ position was that there was nothing j wrong with the accounts, with the one ( exception, that loan moneys had been paid into the general account- instead j of' a separate account. That was a , breach of the Act, but the Board had actually gained by it. There was prac- ] tically £13,000 loan money unexpend- . ed, on which interest had to be paid, ( and the fact of the secretary paying it into the general account had saved j the Board paying interest on an over- £ draft at the bank. According to Mr. £ Keeble’s statement there was a credit balance of £11,245, and another j £3OOO would be received in a short q time from the Department. The Board would then be able to transfer to a j separate loan account the amount of the loan moneys that had been used j in the general- account. However, g £3,338 had to be paid on the Nurses’ £ Home, and this would leave a balance of only about £9OOO on the loan ac- v count. He suggested that the matter j be left in the hands of the actingsecretary and Chairman. After making provision for the Nurses’ Home y payment, they could transfer the bal- f ance to a loan account. About £lO,OOO v might be placed on fixed deposit for c three months, and at the end of that j period the Board would have an idea of what expenditure would be re- ( quired in the following three months. e Mr. F. L. Turley suggested that £5OOO be placed on fixed deposit for six months. The Board would get a f higher rate of interest, and it was pretty certain that the money would ], not be required. He moved in that a direction, the resolution being seconded by Mr. J. Brislane and carried. v The Chairman said he was very pleased matters were not so bad as anticipated. Everything was in order. Mr Keeble thought that the year would close with an expenditure of 1 £lOOO in excess of the estimates. If the Board could do that, it would be better than they had done in any previous year. The estimates were, roughly, £30,000, and to get within *' £lOOO of them was very satisfactory. 1 Last, year the expenditure exceeded 1 the estimates by £2OOO. if the excess was big, the Board had power to raise a supplementary levy, but a couple of thousand would simply be carried on . to the next year’s, estimates. Up to 1 the present time the Board was within its estimates. s THE CHAIRMAN’S DEFENCE.. u There was, continued Mr Hannan, 1 one personal matter he would like to touch upon, and that was a reflection made upon himself. It was stated at the Board’s previous meeting, in his 1 absence, that he was partly to blame for the trouble that had arisen, by not 1 bringing correspondence before the c Board. The allegation, according to the newspaper reports, was made by Mr J. Greaney, and he would like to h know what correspondence was suppressed. ’ ’ ‘ Mr Greaney: The Inspecting Ac- ” countant (Mr C. H. Beggs) told us ’ that he wrote to you in June and ‘ again iii August, but neither of the letters.was brought before the Board. The Chairman replied that the letters were written to him personally. The first letter, although addressed to 1 the Chairman, was opened by the " Secretary, and the first he (Mr Han- •’ nan) knew of it was on August 9. when he received a further ■ letter from the Department. He was not aware that Mr Beggs had previously been at Greymouth. In June, Mr Beggs’ report was sent to Greymouth addressed to the Chairman, and was opened by the secretary. The first the Chairman knew about it was in August, and he at once asked the secretary about the report. The secretary produced it, and said he had overlooked bringing it before the Board.

Mr Brislane said that the Chairman’s statement put a different complexion on the matter. The Chairman: As a matter of fact, that report was not presented to me, and probably would not have been presented to the Board if I had not got a personal letter from the Department. I certainly felt the remarks of members very much. ' ■

Mr Greaney said that, as Chairman, Mr Hannan must have kfibwn that the secretary was three months behind with the levies.

The Chairman replied that he knew nothing of the sort. There was no reason why he should know it. For over three years, in addition to being Chairman, he was treasurer of the Board, and he then kept an eye on things, because he was personally responsible. When an accountant recommended by the Health Department was appointed treasurer, he did not consider it was the duty of the Chairman or any other member of the Board to inspect the books. They were audited twice a year. The estimates were approved by the Board, .and he naturally assumed that the secretary would, send them to Wellington and to the local bodies. Mr Turley: Don’t you think mem-

5 tiers should Have seen tlie outward correspondence? The ■'Cliairinan; Naturally) we concluded that the secretary was attending to his duties, it did hot strike me or any of the seven other members that he was not doing so, lam glad we now have at least one member of the SuQTtl wilt? will notice. t Mr TUi'ley: Was not all that correspondence you have read more or less Board cprrespondence? The Chairman: 1 took It that it Was petsdridl) as it whs fiddfdskod to me personally. I was not going to accuse the secretary in his absence. I told the Board members that I was not satisfied with matters, and that I proposed to call on the Department and ask them to send a man'here. Mr Turley: 1 think that the correspondence should have come before the Board, The Chairman: I have a different opinion! Mr Brislahd expressed the opinion that people elected to local bodies should dive deeper into affairs and see what was being done. Since the trouble had arisen, he had got a greater insight into the Board’s affairs. A little more looking into things would do good, even when they had a new secretary.

Mr. F. Williams pointed out that it was not only Mr. Greaney who had said a few words, with regard to the Chairman. Every member of the Board was in accord with what was said. From the statements and the correspondence that were before the Board at the previous meetings, he was satisfied that the Board could take no other view in regard to the Chairman. Mr. Beggs had quite a pile of correspondence, and none of it had been before the Board. Had the Chairman been in the members’ position, he would have viewed the matter from the same angle as they did. The Chairman’s statement certainly did lift a good deal of the suspicion off him, more especially with regard to the letter written in June. Mr. Beggs never told the Board that any of the letters were private or confidential to the Chairman. There was nothing for the Board to do but to accept Mr. Beggs’ statement that the correspondence was sent to the Chairman because the secretary was apparently not handling (he correspondence correctly. The point he wished to make, said Mr, Williams, was that all the blame should not be laid by the Chairman upon the shoulders of Mr. Greaney. The Chairman: I am not. blaming Mr. Greaney. I am only going by the newspaper reports. Mr. Williams: I am going to take my share of the blame. Now that you say it was your own private correspondence, it probably throws a different light on the matter. Personally, I think the Board should accept the Chairman’s explanation. Mr. Greaney (to the Chairman): Did you know Mr. Beggs had previously visited this office?

The Chairman: No. I told the Department I had not seen his report, and was not aware that he was in Greymouth. Mr. Brislane: I think the Health Department’s auditor is to blame for a lot of it. He should have informed the Board of the state of affairs. The Chairman pointed out that the Board had lost nothing through Mr. Thomson’s actions. Mr. Williams: It is not our fault if we didn’t!

Mr. Turley declared that the Finance Committee had been a bit sleepy, and the Board had been sound asleep. Mr. Brislane: You will be asleep when you have been two years on the Board!

The fact that the secretary had paid himself'a month’s salary in advance before he was suspended, was referred to by Mr. Turley, who asked whether the money had been refunded, and what the Board intended to do about it.

The assistant-secretary expressed the opinion that Mr. Thomson was entitled to the money, as he had been paying superannuation fees, and they were always refunded when an employee left. Mr. Brislane moved that the matter be dropped, and the resolution was agreed to. Mr. Turley said that the position was very unsatisfactory. Personally, he had not suspected the ex-secretary because, had he been dishonest, he could have got away with enough to retire on! SISTER BLAIR’S RESIGNATION. While the Chairman was “under fire,” Mr Turley said that Sister Blair’s actual resignation never came before the Board. The Chairman: It was certainly handed in just before a meeting. I have not got it. Mr Turley: No one has ever seen it. bar the Matron, the Doctor, and herself. It must have disappeared somehow. The resignation was read out in the Matron’s report, but the actual resignation was not attached to the report. The Chairman said that it must be in the office somewhere.

Mr Turley: It is rather extraordinary that it. should disappear! Mr Williams: I suppose it disappeared like the other letters that came to the secretary! Mr Turley replied that the secretary had left the office before the resignation came in. The assistant-secretary said that she had asked the Matron for the resignation, but the latter said she had not got it. The assistant-secretary added that she personally did not re ceive the resignation and never saw it in the office.

Mr Turley: 1 want to sec that resignation. Thbre is a lot of interest attached to it. 1 don’t think there was any ulterior motive behind the affair so far as the Chairman is concerned. The Chairman: If it is not here, it is no fault of mine!

Later in the meeting Mr Turley stated that he desired to re-open the matter of Sister Blair’s resignation, (t was supposed to have been before the Board, but could not be found. In the . circumstances, the Board should go into the whole matter and see- what really transpired.

The Chairman: The position is that Sister Blair resigned and her resignation was accepted by the Board. If the matter is to be re-opened, it is for Sister. Blair to move. :

Mr Turley declared that Sister Blair bad asked him to. re-open the matter. She told him that she resigned ‘-‘at the point of the bayonet,” being compelled to do so. He, for one, did not stand for any employee of the Board being compelled to resign in that man : ner.

The Chairman: Sister Blair has made no complaint. Mr Turley: She made it to me! i .

The Chairman: The proper place to make a complaint is to the Board. I certainly declare this discussion closed. What .is the use of wasting time? If Sister Blair has a grievance, it is for her to write to the Board.

Mr Turley: I think Sister Blair has been bluffed. Someone put the wind up her and told her that if she reopened the thing it would not be good for her!