HOSPITAL BOARD.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CI, Issue 11898, 23 May 1899, Page 2

HOSPITAL BOARD.

SPECIAL MEETING.

THE DOCTOR AND THE LATE CHAIRMAN.

A special meeting of the Hospital Board was held yesterday; present Messrs J. G. Murray, J. Wolfe, W. Jacques, J. M. Douglass, H. Feldwiek, W. Dunlop, G. Payling, C. M. Gray, J. Dobson, G. M'Haffie.

On the motion of Mr Payling, Mr J. M. Douglass wasvoted to the chair. On the-motion of Mr M'Haffie, seconded by Mr Payling, Mr J. M. Douglass was unanimously elected permanent chairman of the Board.

Mr M'Haffie moved, and Mr Payling se"That the following resolution passed by the Board at. its meeting ■of March. 22 be rescinded—' That this Board will not recognise the payment to the house surgeon after-thfrpreseirt month of the sitlary accruing to the position of , the assistant, house surgeon during a vacancy thereof, such allowance only to apply when relieving one another on their annual'holidays, as per notification of July 6 last'; and (b) -that the house surgeon be.paid the sum' of £l2. 10s in addition to his salary fpr;;the' months of' April, 1899." Mr M'Haffie said the resolution now sought to be rescinded had been passed by mistake in the first instance. . Mr Murray said that he thought 'that the patients were entitled to the best medical assistance available, and that the amount at present paid to the house surgeon was altogether inadequate. He moved—" That in future the house surgeon be paid £4OO per annum instead of £300." ... •Mr Dobson seconded the motion, "nitn which, he said, he was in the fullest synirose to a" point of order on the F round that notice of such an important motion as one raising the doctors salary should have been given. Mr Dobson. said that due notice of the proposed increase, had been given in the notice, of motion. . "■<■.• ■■ .■ o i The^Chairman, rufedj;,that themotipli was i in order. ' ~ ...... ~. . , •■ y. '■•■.'•'■.' .u Mr Grav formally protested against the motion being taken, holding that it was a contravention of Rule 6. ..,. . ...-. Mr Dunlop suggested that an increase ol £SO per year should be a' substantial, one, and' he should support the amendment if £4OO was altered to £350, and said that he would probacy be prepared to support an increase of another £SO at the end of the 7 Mr Gray opposed both motion and amendment. Dr l'ox had already received one rise since his appointment and the Late Dr Prins; had.told him (Mr ,<srar^t hat £3OO at the hospital was worth £IOOO in private practice, where a man had an establishment to keep up. When it was considered that the amount was paid exclusive of the cost of maintaining the doctor's family,- it would be seen that £6OO was a fair sal&rv. The salary of the House Surgeon at Auckland had been recently reduced, and members of the Board must look to their finance. Mr Payling said that most people would five an accountant £3OO a year, and he thought they should at least pay their doctor, -who was responsible for the lives of so manv patients, properly. He scouted the. idea that £3OO in the hospital was worth £IOOO outside, and stated that he would be pleased to see the doctor's salary £SOO instead of £-100. Mr M'Haffie said that ivir Gray had not mentioned what the AucKlancV doctor's salary had been reduced from, He thought that Dr Fox was the most poorly pari medical man in any important institution in Australasia. A private doctor built up his; fortune by his private practice, while a hospital doctor was unable to do this. It should be the object of the Board to keep a good man, and one who had a love for his work. He would, b~y leave of the Board, withdraw his motion and support the amendment. The required leave having been given, Mr Murray's amendment became the substantive motion, and was carried, Mr Gray being the only dissentient. > In accordance with notice, of motion, Mr Gray moved—" That .the following resolution passed by the Board'on Mav 10 be rescinded —'That hi the opinion of this Board it will be for. the good-of the hospital thai the Chairman be asked to resign, that position, the Board being thoroughly satisfied with the House Surgeon's explanation.'" Mr Gray asked the leave of the Board to omit' the words after "position" from his motion. Leave was refused. The Chairman asked if Mr Gray had a. seconder. ...

After some discussion Mr Dunlop seconded the motion pro forma. Mr Gray was proceeding to say that he objected tobegagged, wherf'he wa§ stopped on a point of, ,■ order. He continued that the motion had been passed with ■a certain feeling of heat, and that if it was intended to be punitive, he had been punished beyond his deserts. The matters on which the Board had' decided might be boiled down to three: —(IJ T h e question of a nurse staying oft; (2) the question of the assistant surgeon sleeping at the hospital; and (3) the letter which he (Mr Gray) had written to the secretary concerning the doctor's playing polo. Alf these complaints were at .least six months old, and he had had no recent disagreement with the doctor. He considered that he had been hardly dealt with, and that his past services alone should have protected him from such treatment, Among other reforms he had been connected with was the stopping of nurses from .scrubbing the wards, and the initiation of the eight hours' system. He would have resigned " like a shot" hadlie received the least intimation that the Board wished him to do so. Had the board allowed him to alter his motion, things might have worked amicably in the future. He -would not. however, accept that decision as final. Mr M'Haffie said no member would deny th'it Mr Gray had been . a very, useful member in the past, and they all hoped he would continue to be so in the future. The "real fact was that Mr Gray and the doctor, two good men, had been at-logger-heads, and he (Mr M'Haffie) had backed the doctor rather than the Chairman, as the doctor was suiting the public. He (Mr M'Haffie) was not going into old matter,, but he would go back to, March 22, 1899. Had th/; Baord taken any other, course the doctor would have left the hospital with a blemish on bis-character. Here Mr Feldwiek intervened, and moved that the Board should proceed to the next business. Mr Gray protested, saying that the Board had gagged him in more ways than one. . The motion to'proceed with.other business was carried, Mr Gray being the only dissentient. The fresh tenders for replastenng the Hytnan Murks Ward (deferred from the previous meeting) were then consideredAfter a long discussion it was resolved to approve of the architect's specifications. A letter was read from Messrs E. Reece and Sons, bringing the merits of asbestic plaster under the notice of the Board, and asking to be allowed to-plaster the.smoking room with that material at their own expense. The letter was received. Pour tenders were received "for replastenng, and the tender of Mr T. Andrews at £3ll 10s was accepted. The work included the four wards, two large bathrooms, private patients' room, Sisters' room and ceilings .and lathi walls. -It was decided to defer lb.- question of painting until the plastering had been carried out. Leave of absence ww granted to Mr H. White. Items of filiiuioo were reported as follows: —Receipts £l9l -Is 1 ; expenditure since April 26, £7ll J fin Id; total estimated revenue for the year 1899-1900, £11.258 lis '2d;' receipts b) (tote, £206 6.?. The statement was adopted. The Chairman thanked the Board for its confidence, and hoped that business would be conducted in a reasonable and fair manner, and that the hospital might benefit by the change. The meeting then terminated.