HOSPITAL YEAR

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXII, Issue 12533, 20 April 1935, Page 2

HOSPITAL YEAR

: chairman jievieyvs board' ! : i; - work: • EXCEEDED, RECORD REVENUE FROM FEES. A comprehensive review of the affairs of the Cook Hospital during the past year was presented to the board by the chairman (Mr M. T. Trafford) at Thursday’s meeting. Inter alia Mr Trafford stated: “The financial rfeview submitted reveals that the expenditure for 1934/35 has exceeded the available money by £1267. This .has been brought about mainly :—l. Owing to an increase in occupied beds. 2. Work subsidiary to earthquake repairs £4ll, and an increase in the domestic requirements c ; f the hospital in bringing the linen, etc . up to a necessary quantity per occupied bed and the establishing of a central linen store. 3. Surgery and dispensary £439. 4. Salaries and wages (hospital) £SOO. 5. Outdoor relief £473. “Tt is pleasing to record that revenue from fees continues to show an increase. The actual collections from patients fees at Cook Hospital, Tola ga Bay Hospital and (Cook Maternity Homo are £687 in excess of the ,amount stimated to he received, and this figure should offset tho costs 'above- It might also be mentioned tlnyb (this year’s collections constitute a record, being £482 higher than any previous year since 1925/26. Maternity Home fees arc not included in this comparison. —Earthquake Repairs.— “During the pas.t four years tho board lias carried out the repairs neca’Sisary .following the earthquako mid .have now completed the work ol’ strengthening all wards as a precaution against possible damage by earthquake in the. future. The work was put in hand after having obtained tlic best possible advice from the Public Works Department m conjunction with the .technical advisors to the Department of Health, and the wards to-day can be said to bo as safe as it is reasonably possible to’ make them. The total net cost <*f carrying out this work is £6, 959, tho sum of £4250 having been found by way of loan and the balance of £2709 having been met from maintenance expenditure. “Subsidiary to this reconditioning and strengthening, the whole of the ward annexes adjoining, have been reconditioned and tho work has involved disturbing equipment, pipe lilncs, and electrical fittings which would not have required attention .for at least two or three years. As a consequence replacements have been necessary, sterilising equipment has been renewed, and much added by way af fixtures and fittings. The wards to-day are now in satisfactory state of. repair, and maintenance expenditure jor several years should be light. OTHER EXTRA COSTS “The appointment of staff nurses and additional nurses in training, partly account for the increase of £soo’ whilst adjustments in salaries have also .had a bearing on the increase. Much has been .said of the rates of pay cxf the nursing staff but tire board has given ‘full consideration to this question, and in comparison with other boards the rates of pay to probationer nurses in training compare favourably. It will be remembered that at the time cuts were made to other members eff the i-taff this board did not make any reduction on the salaries of the nurses in training. “Expenditure on outdoor relief last year is £473 in excess of the amount provided. Your outdoor relief committee have given a considerable amount olf time to consideration of the applications for assistance that have come before its officers. The demands have increased, and arc heavy, and the board has, a>q far as possible confined itself to the claims which are its responsibility. “The ground's, of the institution where it has been possible to do so, • are producing for the benefit of the hospital. The Memorial Homo provides all vegetables 'for its own requirements and practically all of the needs of the hospital. The hospital orchard supplies a very largo portion of its fruit requirements, .whilst a good garden crop is also obtained from tho hospital grounds. Our own staff continue to make tho whole of (the jam and practically tho whole of our -preserved fruit requirements. The appearance of tho grounds is in keeping with the institution and the board take pride in keeping .it as one «qf the sites worthy of the town. —Administration Co sis—- “ Expression has been given to administrative costs being excessive mid increasing. This is noi borne out by tho true facts and figures submitted to you. The total office admin istrative cost .for the last year was £l4O in excess of the cost in the year prior to the change in office control. ; This increase i« ‘ fjully justified, for the board now have an. efficient and ' thoroughly organised office which is ' borne out by the considerable detail i which the board is called upon to ; consider in the course of its udmipis tmtin'll ol the affair's of the various institutions under its control. “Considering the very large savings that have been effected during the past five years', and the fact that during this pferiod a lfifgd aihdunt of construction Work has! been undertak : oil involving the office staff in oohf siderablo work, it can bo said that there lias been no increase'ip administrative’'cosits. ' ' V’ COMPARISON Oil EXPENDITURE “The figures submitted review the hospital expenditure over two 5-year (icriods, the actual ’ maintenance e.xpeuditul’O' over the latter Hvo years showing' a‘Mecrease of.£2C;p9B , on the expenditure ok’ tho previous' five years. As the hffit two. years’ expen'dituro iubludos tho eosi of hiaiiitaiiliiig the Cook Maternity Homo 'amounting to £29'sl* the fictual'reduction as compared with thp previous

'five years for 'comparative purposes is £29,049, ‘(Taking iujfo. /'consijieratjpn that 25 per cent, exchange is ( applicable to a very largo portion of our hospital .supplies' and the sajps tax has ing'the-past three years, the hoard added considerably to our costs durhave every reason to consider that at the end of another term of office the results here submitted are a very creditable recordGENERAL • “The time taken in building the new maternity home will exceed the time allowed for in the contract, the contractor having had difficulty in obtaining supplies. The work, howevr, is proceeding satisfactorily at present. The transfer of the Home cannot take place before July. “The conduct of the farm is proceeding .satisfactorily and there has been a surplus of supplies for some time. Your farm committee, have, at intervals, paid visits of inspection to the farm and fhe culling of stock, etc,, has been advised. Nearly all our bacon and pork requirements for the hospital have been produced on the farm. “There has been during the past year, 15 full hoard meetings and 41 committee meetings, the record olf attendances of members showing that members have given very large amount of time in the interest ol hospital affairs, and I take this opportunity of expressing to all members' my appreciation op their support in tho conduct of tho affairs of the hoard.” On the motion of Mr C. G. Bayliss whp warmly congratulated tho chairman on his services to the board during the year, the report was adopted. “CRITICISM IN IGNORANCE” Later in the meeting, the chairman intimated that he wished to add a few words of appreciation of the board’'. l * services to what- he had already stated in the report. All members, ho said, had given him the whole-hearted support and he trusted that, whoever was around the hoard table after the elections, they would give the same to the then chairman as had been given in .the speaker. There was apparently to be a fair amount of opposition to members and there had been a certain amount of criticism, but much of this undoubtedly had been made in ignorance, as that could be the only explanation of its being made. He Would welcome constructive criticism, but.not such as was made in entire ignorance ‘of the true facts. All the members, proceeded, Mr Trafford, had given their time and services in the interests of tho institution, the patients, and the ratepayers generally. Whoever came in coulj not do more. Tho chairman also thanked the press for reporting the meetings in a fair and just manner, much more fully than in most hospital district*. VERY LITTLE TO CRITICISE As the. senior member of the board, Mr D. \Y. Coleman, M.P., returned thanks on behalf of the members and stated that the chairman had given .excellent service. Hie speaker was a gooff critic, yet there had been little occasion for him to. say anything during the past year. He had not always agreed with the chairman’s suggestions, but they all knew that, in bringing forward any proposal Mr Trafford was honest and sincere in his desire to better the institution. It had been a pleasure to work with him. Mr Coleman also praised the work of the staff and stated they had given wonderful service, always placing the interests of the hospital before all else in their lives. They were very fortunate in having such a splendid staff. Dr. R. J. B. Hall, medical .--uoer • intendent, briefly returned thinks on behalf of the staff.