OTIRA HOSPITAL

Grey River Argus, 18 December 1920, Page 4

OTIRA HOSPITAL

UTTERILT NE6LECT2D

DOCTOR DISHEARTENED. PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AT FAULT.

ALSO HOSPITAL BOARD.

(Special to "Argus.") jg OTIKA, December 17. ,j\ It will be remembered that, about „ six or seven months ago the Hospital „ at Otira was destroyed by iire, and . v consoquently a worker's cottage had v to be utilised as a. hospital. At the s time it was promised by the Govern- a nifiit and the Westlaud Hospital Board 0 that the residents in this isolated lo- , cality would be helped in their hard- (: ship "in every way; lmt these promises r have been, sadly ignored.. The aUJtude of the Public Works Department r engineers has been, regrettably callous, j and the hospital has been left without „ much-needed equipment to such an «'» 0 tent that the medical officer, Dr. t Bathgate, has been disheartened, and f has rendered his resignation. As soon as this fact became known at, Otira, c it created much anxiety among* tho t workers and residents generally, who ,- arc regular contributors towards the „ hospital. The residents have experi- ,] eneed such anxiety at the prospoct oi being again left without v doctor, that v a meeting of the West Coast Workers' c Union was held last Monday at Otira. , and a large attendance of membeis t expressed their indignation at the treatment the locality had received. A stvongly-worded resolution was passed, and a copy of it forwarded to the Westland Hospital Board, which on Thursday sents its Chairman (Mr. R. Wild) to Otira to confer with tho representatives of the residents and the 1 Public Works Department. A confer- > ence was duly held, at which there were present Dr. Bathgate, Messrs \ Wild, and J. \V." Gillies and Jeffries (Public Works Engineers), Robeitson (Chairman of the Ofrra Hospital Oommitiee), and R. Beban (President of tshe West Coast Workers' Union). The Doctor pointed out that his grievance was the utter .lack of co-operation shown by the Public Works Department, and its long delay in inaugurating improvements at the hospital. He hud received a sympathetic letter from Hon. Mr. Coates (Minister of Public j Works), but his complaint hud to do < with the Engineers. He (Dr. Bathgate) had been informed at the outsot that the new hospital was to have its needed alterations effected by "the Department, and yet it was only last week, after a delay of six months, that hot-water facilities had been inslailed, while he had had to wait for a sink for lour months. The sanitary arrangements were still incomplete, and after six months the hospital still had to carry on without a linen press. Mr. Gillies admitted that he had authority to expend fifteen hundred pounds on the hospital for improvements. His excuse was a shortage of labour. Mr. Beban said lie strongly differed with the District Engineer in this .matter, pointing out that at Otira thcy"\ad available all the kinds of labour that would be needed. f The Doctor pointed out that, locally he got pleuty of support. There were some warm exchanges between the Doctor and Mr. Gillies, and also the President of the Union and Mr. Gillies. Finally Mr. Beban claimed aid on behalf of the workers, other residents, their wives, and the 79 children attending the school. Mr.' Wild asked Dr. Bathgnfe if ho had made any arrangements 1 elsewhere, and on receiving a reply in the negative, he asked the Doctor to reconsider his -resignation. The Doctor did not state his iinal decisoin, and it Ls not yet known. It was pointed out > at the ■ conference that the Westland Hospital Board had shown itself very ' neglectful of Otira, in so far that not \ once since the fire at the former hos- , pital • had the Board . sent one of its i members to Otira to sec how the new hospital fared, and the Union Prcsid--1 cut protested. Mr. Gillies suggested 1 the locality itself did not do enough, | and that the hospital was up to the average for a cottage one. Mr. Wild i asked why they did not set up a ivork- ' ing bee to do all needed. Mr. Beban 1 asked if Mr. Wild\ Board had had | this done at Hokitika or anywhere \ else. Mr. Wild admitted tftat they had i not. and the Union President said the ) Chairman should see his Board prac- ► ticed what it preached. Thpre was ? tod' much dictation from the Engineers, \ and the Public Works Department seemed to be mostly a set of bosses. Letters from Otira had been ignored, while the residents had 'lately doubled their contributions to their hospital, • which meant a lot to them. The doctor had sacrificed something in coming there. He Avas a clever, energetic and considerate medical officer, and [. had made regular trips .to the other side at Boaley, and had only charged a moderate fee of £2 2s per trip. I- It is to be hoped the Minister and ' the Westland Board will now help the .. Doctor and the residents to the utmost of their power, and so prevent a regrettable hardship originating at Otira, which in its isolation, cannot do.without a doctor. The residents feel the position keenly, and deserve better treatment than they have had.