ANNUAL MEETING OF HOSPITAL SUBSCRIBERS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume 26, Issue 1369, 17 January 1896, Page 3

ANNUAL MEETING OF HOSPITAL SUBSCRIBERS.

The annual meeting of subscribers to the Naseby Hospital wa.s held in the Council Chambers on Thursday, January 9th, when there was a very fair attendance Mr J. Mitchell, chairman of trustees, occupied the chair. Tho minutes of last annual meeting were confirme i on the motion of Mr W. Guffie, seconded by Mr W. F. Inder. doctors' report. The doctor's report read by tho secretary was as folioWß : BTATIBSICS. Number of patients on December 31st, 189* .. 4 Number admitted during the year, 1895 .. .. 97 Total under treatment 101 Number of patients discharged during IS9S .. 82 Number of patients who died 6 Number remaining ou December Slst, 1895 .". 13 Total .. .. .. ioi su. Females 32 Males ..69 Total 101 COKDITIOX IX LIFB. Single women .. Married women.. .. .. .. .. ..16 j Singh men .. .. .. .. .. • • 47 [Married men 22 Total .. ~' 101 LOCALITIES FKOM WUICH THB PATIENTS CAME. K.vehurn, 24; Na&ebv, 23; Patearoa, 10; Hamiltons, 8; Hyde, 7; St. Bathana, 6; Ewer-urn, 6; Blackstnne Hill, 5 ; Gimmerliurn, 3; Cambrian, 2; Wedderburn, 2: Cromwell, 1 ; Dunedin, 1; r*igroot, 1; Serpentine, 1; Middlemarch, 1; total, 101. Last year Kyeburn headed the list with 24, St Bathans came next with 18, and Hyde was third with 17, while Nasehy only gave us 16. Seeing that Dr Shields is now resident in Hyde we can hardly expect many patient 9 from that locality. NATID.SAUTT. New Zealand 29 Scotland 20 England 22 Ireland 13 Victoria 4 China ..4 America .. .. i Tasmania 1 Malta 1 Total 101 RELIGION*. Presbyterian, 39 ; Church of EngUnd, 35; Roman Catholic, 21; Confucian, 4; Wesleyan, 2; total, 101. The total collective days' stay in the hospital was '616: the. i idiviilual .11. V *tay was 16. The average laily number of paliti"s was d"3. OUT-PATIKNTB. "Vc have this year treated more outpatient 6* than we treated last year— 38 being our number this year as against 29 last year. The visits paid number 165. PIXANCIAL. No less a sum than £ll7 17s 6d has been received by Mr Kim.' as patienta* fees. When this is added to the amount already collected by the secretary the total should lie a very handsome hmiii. I m'.y »i,V that the fees are paid to us most unitrurtirlnj-ly, and wh;n the patients have the money Mr King has no difficulty in getting the fees. Of the 11)1 in-patients, 65 uero medical cases and 36 were surgical. Chloroform was adiuiniilcred 22 times. 1 must here express my thanks to Dr Shields, of Hyde, for his help on two or three occasions during operations. In one operation Iwas fortunate enough to hive the assistance of Dr M'Urcgor, the inspectorgeneral of hospitals, to whom al-ioarc my best thanks due. The inspector'mid his annual visit on November 'Jlh and found the hospital in a satisfactory condition. We had at the lime 10 patients u .iler treatment, so that he got a fair i npressioi of the routi ;e work. He w.is greatly pleased with the improvements made »ince his former < isit, especially the Bro apparatus, water supply anil kitchen sto e. Kor the ben-tit of the subscribers I may here mention that » e ha>e three lengths of hose each iOftloug, and a hydrant ready at a moment's notice in case of flro The water prc-ure is 75lbs to tho si- are inch. DONATION!*. VISITORS, Ac. Every week wc receive donations in some form or other from frit-nds of the destitution. It is •■xtrcrorly •-TAtifyinj- lo knnw that man,) of the donors are

ex-patients who wish in some way to mark theii appreciation of the treatment received while in the hospital. It is not necessary to particularise the Honors or their gifts, which include the following articles: Poultry, eggs, - butter, vegetables, fish, fruit, clothing, books, newspapers, ornaments, &c. As a rule patients are always glad to see visitors, aud we encourage them as much as possible to cm; when the sick people are able to them. At th<same time visitors must not look on it as a ristht, but only as a privilege, to enter the wards as it is sometimes necessary to exclude even the relatives of the patients in certain cases. The Revs. Mr Smith, Mr Mitchell, Father Sheohan, and the Salvation Army offlcera have been very attentive to the patients throughout'the year. Nor must I forget the aseliv Brass Band whion Is always we'.comsd in the grounds inhere it discourses music ob Sunday afternoons for a fe\? hours, - . The garden" has beert kept in excellent order by Mr H. iiavis, who tries to supply the kitchen with as many rsgi'tahles as he can. The flower garden is very attractive this sunftD.?! - , Mrs King having made it her hobby. UiS's WARD TOO SMALL. Our experience, this last year is that the men's Wftrd is too small.. At present it contains eight beds, and its cubic air space is 6150 feet, f.<\, each bed has not quite 770 cubic fi'et of air space, an allowance much too small for hospital purposes. It is a common thing to have the eight beds occupied as we have at present, and a visitor to the ward would be struck with the foulness of the air in the ward about two hours after the patients have gone to bed. It is quite apparent now, in the summer time, even with all the ventilation we have, but it is infinitely more apparent in the winter time when it 19 impossible to open the windows. I am, therefore, under the necessity of bringing this m:ttter under your careful consideration, and w..uld -trongly urge the advisability of having the ward enlarged. The followi g quotation from our greatest authority on the subject is very apropos : —" For sick persons the cubic spice should be more than for healthy persons. Very much the same considerations apply to sick as to healthy men, except that the allowance if air in all cases of acute diseases must be greater; and, therefore, especially if natural ventilation be employed, the cubic space has to be enlarged also to insure gond distribution without draught, for surface chilling must be carefully avoided. In hospitals a certain amount of floor space ia indispensably necessary ; firstly, for the lateral separation of patients; secondly, for the convenience of attendance. For the first object, the greater floor space the better; and in respect of the seoond, Sir H. Aoland has dearly shown that the minimum floor space for convenient nursing should be 72 square feet per bed. In a ward of 12 feet in height this would give 884 cubic feet, which is much too swill. The height of our wnd is 107£ 7in, and the cubic space is only 770 ft and yet 884 feet is miwli too small. I think, froui what I have quoted, that all must agr?e that increased accommodation is necessary. Now, I have been going on the assumption that eight is our maximum number of men. We have frequently had more than that number in at one time. Rightly speaking the ward should be lenethened as well as hightened. But to increase the height is a praoticalditfioulty. I would suggest, however, that the extra cubio space could be made up by increasing the length still further, say 20 or 25ft and leave the height as it is. CONCLUSION. We have been fortunate in having well-behaved patients. Their conduct has been admirable. Once only hare I had occasion to caution a man about his behaviour. I cannot speak too highly of Mr and Mrs King, who strive to the utmost to make the hospital comfortable for the patients. They do a sreat deal uf work that many would consider outside their duties. Last February they had a fortnight's holiday, and at the end of this month they will get away for a change, Mr and Mrs Langmaak taking their plaaes. In conclusion I must thank the trustees for the manner in which my many demands are met aud for the interest they take in our work.

It was moved by Mr Gordon, and seconded liy Mr Donnelly—That the doctor's >eport be adopted, and that the incoming trustees be instructed to apply to tne Central Otago Hospitals Board for the money necessary to enlarge the meu's ward.

M. Guffie thought they were greatly indebted to the doctor for his very full account of the year's work. It wa3 almoat superfluous to mention what everyone knew, thin the doctor displayed the warmest interest in the institution. H; was sure that they were all agreed as to the necessity of an eniargmeut on the lines suggested in the report. Apart from the present need of increased accommodation they could justly ask the board for help because this part of the country had for years been-contributing to the revenue of the Ceutral Otago Hospitals Board much more in proportion to the amount received back in aid of this Hospital than Vincent County, where there were two hospitals. Tills county contributes nearly half of the locally raised revenue, Vincent con'rilmtiug a trifle more than half and receives two-thirds of the locally raised revenue. When he told them that for the ! year ending March ,31st, 1895, the Naseby [ Hospital treated 116 patients, while Dunstan j and Cromwell Hospitals taken together j treated 124, it must be plain th it the call they proposed to make on the funds of the Central Otago Hospital Board was no more than just. | The Rev Mr Smith remarked that the ' report disclosed a high state of efficiency at : a very low cost. The motion was carried unanimously. TRUSTEES REPORT. The trustees presented the following report and balance-sheet: — BKCBIPTS. Balance 214 5 Government subsidy .. .. 133 17 10 Central Hospital Board 634 9 8 Receipts on account of patients 186 16 2 Subscriptions and donations.. 105 Oil ' Bank overdraft 12 8 1 £1075 7 1 j KXP3SDITDJUS. Salaries and w rises .. .. 394 10 6 j Printing and advertising ..980 Stamps and Stationery .. 18 9 ' Incidental expenses .. .. 36 111 Rations and provisions .. 152 711 Wines, spirits, ale and portir— 8 8 0 Medical comforts .. .. 6 9 3 Fuel and light .. ..' . 51 19 2 Bedding and clothing:.. .. 22 4 9 Surgery and dispensary .. 40 4 3 Furniture and earthenware .. 8 7 6 Buildings and repairs .. .. 54 10 0 Washing and laundry .. 10 0 Water supply 103 9 0 Insurance So 0 Extra labour . .. 15 15 0 Funerals 9 10 0 Exchange 19 6 Interest on overdraft.. .. 6 0 924 19 6 Fixed deposit 150 0 0 Cash in hand .. .. .. 7 7 £1075 7 1 Deducting £lO3 9s, the oosfc of introducing water supply, and £54 10s, cost of additions to building, or £157 19s in all, the net cost of mai itaininir the hospital for the year is found to be £767 Os 6d. THUSTEBS' RBPOET. At the last annual meeting we laid hefore the contributors what we had do- e -and what '.vre had ;o do to complete ihe arrangeine.it.> in lund. ' We stated as you will nave observed in the n-port jusr. read that the laying down of the water supply w.\s delayed owing to Messrs Inder and Gulße wishing to w.irk out :i paddock in front of the hospital so that the pipes should not have to be shifted when laid down, and that the trustees had purchased a kitchen range with two double pressure boiler?, also an enamelled hath for the women's bathroom ; thes •■ have been fixed nnd all these works have been completed. The inspector of hospitals who paid the institution a vi s ;t the other week expressed himself thoroughly satisfied with the improvements made. We have another difficulty now to coi.tend with—the men's ward ij i.ot large enough to accommodate thr number of patit-nlB seeking admission, and that should have immediate consideration. The adoption of the report, moved by Mr Mitchell and seconded by Mr Jones, was carried unanimously. In answe- to questions regarding incidental expenses it was explained that a number of articles required for furnishing the new ward of the hospital had increased the item. ELECTION OF TRUSTEES. The meetiug then proceeded to the election of two trustees in place of Mr S. K. M'Carthy and Mr Jones. Only Mr Jones, proposed by Messrs W. F. Inder and Dawson, and Mr Donnelly, proposed by Messrs E. Hall and Jackson, b'-ing nominated those gentlemen were declared elected. VOTES OF TIIANKS. Mr Quffie moved —I'hat a hearty vote of thanks be accorded to the doctor, wanisman, matron, and secretary for the efficient way in which they have fulfilled their lespective du;ies during the year. He was sure that they were all proud of this institution, which did such a highly beneficient work in the district and so well. Its harmnnius working and the good behivior of the patients «ns a matter for congratulation. Mr Wilson who seconded the motion, said he was in hearty accord with the motion. The motion was carried unanimously. Mr Dawson moved that a hearty vote of thanks be recorded to the trustees tor the eltieion y of their services during the past year. Re said that they only required to look at the improvements effected during the past year or two to know that the trustees had been most faithful to their trust. The motion won seconded by Mr Gordon and carried unanimously. Mr \V. F. Inder moved and Mr Evans sccond'-d a motion that the representative members of the institution, Messrs Burnett, Gutfic, and Johnstone be thanked for their services rendered so ungrudgingly —Carried unanimously. Mr OulFie returned thanks for th" vote. A vote of thinks to the chair, passed on the motion of Mr Sim, terminated the meeting.

THE WORLD R't?NS AWAY PROM US The other day we had a'talk with a man who knew as little of the vrorM around him

■i=! :■. bal,i-. Yot b» was a mar. of naturally fi ic inie!li-cn2e. He had just been reliered. from pri-r.n. Ten yi;cir= ajp tic was incarcerated nulcr » life sentence. Recently however, circumstances had arisen which jt >7Bd his inuoceace, and Hie obtained his f eedoin. But no hing seemed as before. lie had bt;en staii-mary while the world mured on. .Ma y of bis bid friends were dead, and all. \er v changed 1 . A big slice of his career w s Is', aiid worse than lost Could he make it up? No. never, besides, although he had committed n" offence, the mere fact that he had been convicted of one. wmld always place him at a disadvantage. Different as it is in all outward conditions long illnes3 produces results which resembles those of enforced solitude. VVhen confined' to our homes by disease we are virtually out nf the world. Friends, may. and do. pity us But they do 'not Ho down by our side aid suffer with us. Ah I no. They go their own ways and leave us alone. In the midst of company we are still alone. Knj'v • ment, food, sleep, fresh air, moveme t, work, &c.—those are for them, not for «, Alas! for the poor prisoner wjose ja lor is some relentless disease. Who shall or.en the iron doors and set Mm free?

" I never had any rest or pleasure." So writes a man whose letter we have just finished reading. -In the early part of USS," he says, " a strange feeling came over to;. I felt heavy, drowsy, languid and tired. 3 >mething appeared to be wrong with me, and I conldn't account for it. I had a foul taste in the mouth, my appetite failed, and what I did eat lay on me like a stone. Soon I became afraid to eat, as the act was always followed by pain and distress. Sonietimes I had a sensation of choking in the throat as if I could not swallow. I was swollen, too, around the body, and got about with difficulty owing to increasing weakness. '• At the pit of my stomach was a hungry craving sensation, as though I needed support from food ; yet the little I took did not abate this feeling. My sleep was broken, and I awoke in the morning unrefreshed. For/i«r years I continued in this wretched state before I found relief."

This letter is signed by Mr Charles H. Smith of 19, New City Road, Glasgow, and dated February 15th, 1893. Before we hear how he was at last delivered from the slavery of illness, let ulisten to the words of a lady on the same theme : Mrs Mary Ann Ruslinqr, of Station Road, Misterton, near Gainsborough. In a brief note dated January 3rd, 1893, Mrs Rusling says she suffered in a similar way for oner fifte'u years. Her hands and feet were cold and clammy, and she was pale and bloodless. She bad pain in the left side and palpitation, and her breathing was short and hurried. No medicines availed to help her until two ypars ago. "At that time," she says, " our minister, the late Rev. Mr Watson, told me of Mother Seigel's Curative Syrup, and urged me to make a trial of it. I did so and presently felt great relief. It was not long before the bad symptoms all left me, and I gradually got strong. ? . I keep in good healtb and have pleasure in making known to others the remedy which did so much for me"

Mr Smith was completely cured by the same remedy, and says bad he known of it sooner he would have been saved years of misery.

The real ailment in both these cases was indigestion and dyspepsia, with its natural consequences. Throughout the civilised world iis course is marked by a hundred forms of pain and suffering. Men and women are torn to pieces by it as vessels are by the rocks on which they are driven by tempests. So comprehensive and allembracing is it that we may almost say that there is no other disease. It signifies life transformed into death, bread turned into poison. AVatch for its earliest signs - especially Ihe feeling of weariness, languor, and fatigue, which ai nounce its approach. Prevention is better than cure. But, by the use of Mother Seigel's Curative Syrup, cure is always possible; and poor captives in the loathsome dungeons of illness are daily delivered as the hand of the good German nurse swings open the doors.