DOMINION’S HOSPITALS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 19 April 1926, Page 5

DOMINION’S HOSPITALS

DR MACEACHERN’S REPORT.

FAVOURABLE FEATURES. SOME RECOMMENDATIONS. (BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION.) WELLINGTON, April; 19. An interim summary of the report of Dr. MacEacherii On the New Zealand hospital system has been issued. It outlines a number of features of the present system, and the hospitals generally throughout the. .Dominion, which are highly commended. These include assured finance. Generally speaking hospital buildings are fairly good and comfortable, and the hospitals, without exception, were found To be immaculately clean and. well kept. The four metropolitan hospitals can rank with hospitals of their kind anywhere. The education of nurses impressed him favourably., and he advocates enco.uragement of voluntary effort and a stimulation of the community interest. - The existing Board of Health might assume the dual function of. health and' hospitals under the name of the Dominion Board of Health and Hospitals. He recommends the reduction of hospital districts,, in addition to pay wards and provision for an intermediate class of patients with freedom to choose their own doctor. The lack of this, he dascribed as the missing link in the’' hospitals system. There should be a uniform policy of staffing. The policy of full or part-time medical officers,, with dual responsibility for clinical and administrative work should be abolished as being entirely opposed to the highest quality of medical services, as 1 well as to efficient administration. He recommended that the staff of each hospital should embrace as many ,as possible of the practising doctors, in , the community where the institution is located. Every hospital should have a complete staff of doctors giving their services gratuitously to necessitous patients. The appointment of an inspector or di; rector of hospitals would be a great advantage. Hospital districts should provide the necessary accommodation, and services for maternity patients, .and one of the honorary medical staff should be present at each confinement, to be prepared for any emergency or complication.

There should be special institutions or departments' for chronic and incurable patients; well-organised dietary departments under the supervision of a competent dietician should be part of each base hospital arrangement. The administrations of anaesthetics should be improved by employing, as far as possible, experienced persons,to give the anaesthetic, and complete records or histories for all patients treated should be promptly and accurately compiled. There should be more careful planning of hospitals and a definite scheme should be worked out for the training of hospital executives.