HOSPITAL & CHARITABLE AID BOARD.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 54, 14 February 1911, Page 11

HOSPITAL & CHARITABLE AID BOARD.

r A meeting of the Hawke’s Bay ; Hospital and Charitable Aid Board .vas held at 2.15 on Monday. Prelent: Messrs. Shrimpton in the J. D. Ormond, J. 8. Large, D. A. Baxter. H. lan Simson. ‘ Crosse. Cranby, Garnett, J. A. Miller, and Chambers. WAIROA HOSPITAL The committee reported as follows : — Present: Messrs. Powdrell (chairman), Bax, and Sinclair. Accounts amounting to £B5/11/■were recommended for payment. The gardener’s application for travelling expenses from Wellington was referred to the board. The medical superintendent was granted twelve days’ leave of absence early in February. It was decided to send a recommendation to the board in respect to patients paying an additional fee of £l/1/- when chloroform is administered. The water supply being a very* serious question, it was decided to apply for a 1000-gallon tank (iron) and urge the board to allow another concrete tank. The following articles were recommended for immediate useSelsogene, ice chest, meat safe, and linoleum for kitchen floor. Messrs. Beckett and Sinclair were appointed a visiting committee for one month. It was resaolved that the Wairoa Committee be empowered to call tenders for the tanks required for -water supply, and the rest of the report was adopted. FINANCE. The Finance Committee reported as follows: — Vouchers amounting to £994’16/8 were examined, and payment is recommended. Voucher No. 728, Miss Green, £l7/17/-, was held over for consideration by the board. The police asked the board’s consent to the committal to an industrial School of four children. —The committee recommend that thrs matter be left in the hands of the chairman to have further enquiries made. North Canterbury Hospital Board forwarded copy of resolution passed by them, urging the Government to found a State School for defective girls, such resolution to be treated as a remit to the forthcoming conference.—The committee recommend this board’s approval of the suggestion. The committee furthw recommend as follows That Mr. Chambers’ report re electric lighting plant, etc., be adopted, and that same be sent on to Messrs. Niven and Co. The latter be asked for a report on the lines suggested by Mr. Chambers, and to propound a scheme to cover present and future requirements. That the board guarantee fees for the treatment of H. J. Wilkie and B. Stephens at Cambridge Sanatorium. That Mrs. Radford’s application for rations be granted. That thte application of the H.B. Children’s Home for the payment of 5/- per week for each of two Stewart girls and 4/- per week for Stewart boy, and for an increase from 5/- to 8/- per week for each of the two Perrett girls be granted. The committee recommend that if any further improvements are intended to be made at the hospital the land be sold and the proceeds applied for that purpose, or failing that the leases be put up at auction, subject to existing leases. The committee recommend that the salaries of the sisters on the staff of the Napier Hospital be revised as under:—First year sister, £BO per annum; second year sister, £65 per annum; third year sister £72 per annum; home sister, £7B per annum. Maintenance fees collected during month of January.—Napier j Hospital, ordinary fees £llO/8/6; | for Park Island patients, £27/15/-; I total, £l3B/3/6. Wairoa Hospital, £27. ORDINARY ACCOUNT. £ s. d. Cr. Balance 3112'10 ... 629 4 9 Receipts for December j (including Levies £2025 | 3/-, and Treasury £856 j 151) 3083 1 7. £3712 6 4 £ s. d. December Vouchers.... 1244 13 7 Exchange 0 12 3 Cr. Balance 2167 0 6 £3712 6 4 Cr. balance as above, £2467 0 5. On the Building Account there is an overdraft of £3OOO. In connection with Mr. Stafford’s lease Mr. Baxter urged that a definite reply should be sent to the lessee. Mr. Simson moved that the' Board did not intend to deal with the leases at present.

Mr. Baxter seconded. He was sure that when the leases expired the properties would be very much more valuable than at present. Mr. Cranby objected. It did not encourage lessees to improve properties. The motion was carried. On the motion of Mr. Baxter the clause dealing with nurses’ salaries was adopted. ELECTRIC LIGHTING. Mr. Mason Chambers reported as follows j A committee consisting of Mr. Garnett and myself were appointed to inspect and report on the electric lighting and coal consumption at the Hospital. I was unable to meet Mr. Garnett on the daj I i visited the Hospital, so in this rc- * port I only express my own views, i Originally there were 55 fiveplate cells used to light the Hospital. Now there are only 48 of J these in use. Since the electric i light was originally installed, there have been continued extensions, thus putting too great a strain OU the storage cells. A much larger set of storage cells is required to provide the necessary light.

There is no economy in the present arrangements, there being no reserve in the cells. The engine runs 6 hours per day in the summer and 12 hours in the winter to keep the cells charged. I think that the consumption of coal could be reduced two-thirds if the electric lighting plant were run by an oil engine. The washing machines could be run by the oil engine as well, and the water could be heated more economically by a boiler. The method of charging the X Rays apparatus is wasteful. The cell room is much too small ‘and the cells are so crowded that ' the engineer is unable to properly examine them. It is a question whether the present voltage is not too low, considering the wide distribution of the current over the;

separate buildings. I have not attempted to go exhaustively into these mattters, as I think the Board should obtain a report as soon as possible form an electrical engineer on the question of lighting, and a report from some competent engineer as to the best means of effecting improvements in the laundry, etc. The reports should be made jointly. ; Adopted : and Mr. Chambers thanked. RESIDENT MEDICAL OFFICER’S REPORT. Number of patients in Hospital on December 31st: Males 3*% females 30. total 68: admitted during Januarv in. 31. f. 19. 53: discharged m. '26. f. 11. 40 ; died ni. ; 8. f. 1,9: remaining m. 37. f. 31., 61. An outbreak of typhoid fever oc- i curred during the month among the |

Maoris at Petane. The refused to come into the Hospital and the Public Health Department decided to let them remain at Petane. A nurse could not be procured to ! supervise the cases and at the ur(gent request of the County Council ' chairman the matron and I decid:ed to permit Nurse Wi Repa <a j qualified nurse) to go if she was wil- ; ling. She remained there a few days only, one of the cases dying ! and the other being convalescent. | The question of epidemics among . the Maoris is an important one to ’|his Hospital, especially as hospital and public health work are | now to be associated. Although I I did not care to let the Maoris have i the impression that they could have i nurses sent still as they were ali lowed by the Department to remain I there it was advisable to take this step in the interests of people livi ing in the infected district and of I the Hospital in the end.— Adopted. MATRON’S REPORT FOR J AN VARY. I have to report that Nurses Early. Murray, Carden. Hooker. ’ Sheridan, Shaw, Carruthers and

i Child, who were examined in Phy- | siology and Anatomy by Dr. Edgar, I all passed. ; That Nurse Roy was appointed, I and has commenced duties. I That Nurse Wi Repa was nurs- | ing typhoid cases at Petane for a | few days, at the request of the County Council. That Nurse Hanson resigns from the expiration of her three months’ leave of absence, as she is not strong enough for auty. ENGINEER’S REPORT FOR JANUARY. The machinery is in the same order as last reported, so also the electrical plant. The following is the coal consumption for month:— Engine room, 7 tons 9cwt Iqr; boiler house, 1 ton 3cwt: kitchen, 1 ton 3cwt; nurses’ home, Iton 6cwt

Iqr: total, 11 tons lewt. Boiler house, 50 bags large coke. OUTDOOR RELIEF. Outdoor relief for the month totalled £ll7/15/3. DR. WILSON’S RESIGNATION. Dr. Wilson tendered his resignation. At the same time he expressed regret at leaving the Board, but he wished to carry out further st tidy. The Chairman spoke warmly of Dr. Wilson’s work at the Hospital. The Board was losing an extremely good man, who had been most kind to poor patients and nurses . Mr. Mason Chambers endorsed the Chairman’s remarks. They were losing a very valuable servant. Messrs. Cranby and Simson also endorsed the remarks of the Chairman and Mr. Chambers.

The resignation was then formally accepted, and it was decided to call for applications for the vacancy. Advertisements to be inserted in local papers, the four centres of New Zealand, in Sydney and London. Applications to be in by March 13th. The salary to be increased to £350 per annum, with house allowance. A SUBSIDY. Nurse Nairn applied to the Board for the payment of subsidies on patients in her hospital which had not been fit to remove to Napier. The Chairman disapproved of the claims made, and Dr. Wilson gave his opinion that some of the charges should not be paid. Mr. Miller said that he had I spoken to Miss Nairn on the subject, and had said that if any, patients were brought in to her whom it was impossible to shift into Napier, if she reported them to the doctor, the board would no doubt give the matter favourable consideration. It was absurd for the -board to pay for patients who could be brought into Napier. It

there were cases of poor patients who could not pay, if she reported the matter to the board, consideration would be given. He had no private reason for not advancing Nurse Nairn’s claim. It was then resolved to refer Nurse Nairn to the previous letter from the board. Vouchers for the amount of £lOl2 13/3 were passed for payment, and the board rose. 1