OTAKI HOSPITAL

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLVI, Issue 163, 11 June 1926, Page 11

OTAKI HOSPITAL

BOARD CONFERS WITH MINISTER i I LEAVES MATTER IN HIS HANDS. MR MONK’S PLEA FOR OTAKI INSTITUTION. One of the objects of the visit to Palmerston North yesterday jof the Hon. J. A. Young, Minister for 1 Health, was to finalise matters affecting the Otaki Hospital which has been, under review for a long time past. The general trend of the discussion yesterday was that the board should , maintain the smallest possible emergency ward at Otaki in view of the fact that cases should be brought on to Palmerston North by ambulance for the most skilled treatment at the earliest possible moment _in accordance with the base hospital centralisation plan of the department. Mr G. A. Monk (Horowhenua) vigorously opposed reducing the Otaki institution to a few emergency wards, contending that that distant part of the hospital district needed something more than that, at least until the building, scheme at the Palmerston North institution was completed. Eventually, after several proposals had been advanced, it was decided to leave the matter of a decision entirely in'the hands of the Minister. SirJames Wilson (chairman of the board) presided at the conference. Sir James Wilson, after thanking the Minister and Dr. Valintine (Direc-tor-General of Health) for their visit, introduced the subject matter and mentioned that he personally and a section of the board members had been condemned for the attitude they had taken up regarding the Otaki Hospital. He, and, lie believed, most of the members, still thought that it ivould be a benefit to the Otaki patients to receive treatment at Palmerston North where the best medical skill was obtainable. Ho and all the members of the board were only desirous of doing the best lor the people in the board’s district. MINISTER APPRECIATES DIFFICULTY. Addressing the meeting, Mr Young said that he and his department appreciated the difficulty in this matter. If, however, Sir James had been described as “inhuman” that was most unjustified for ho had served a great number of years in the cause of humanity and still continued to do so most ably despite his advancing years. The Minister added that it was his opinion and that of the department that it would be wrong to shut Otaki out of everything in the way of a local hospital service and he asked the board to consider whether it could not establish there a maternity ward of at least four beds and two other small wards containing a bed each for tho reception of urgent accident and sickness cases, these to form a receiving baso pending the removal of urgent cases to the Palmerston North Hospital. Tho department had agreed that in the interests of efficiency each district should have only one base hospital with out-stations for tho reception of urgent cases pending their removal to the central building where the best possible service would be available. That which lie. had outlined ho deemed the minimum proposition which tho board should undertake in respect to Otaki. MINISTER SUGGESTS OUTLAY OF £SOOO. “What would be tho cost?” asked Mr J. A. Nash. “About £5000,” replied Dr. Valintine. “Who finds that?” asked Mr Nash. Dr. Valintine: You find half and the department half. •Mr Nash, when further informed that the annual cost to tho Hospital Board of the local service suggested by Mr Young would be about £IOOO without allowance for rebates from patients’ fees, said that the Minister’s suggestion would be little cheaper to tho board than the present arrangement, which cost some £I2OO a year. It was not acceptable. TOO ELABORATE, SAYS SIR JAMES WILSON. Sir James Wilson said ho had thought that the provision at Otaki of an outstation need not have been so elaborate as that suggested by tho Minister. He could not' see the board agreeing to the Minister’s suggestion—it was too costly. Ho thought that the AlcWilliam bequest which was yet available for the benefit of Otaki, together with a subsidy, would have served to meet the need for an emergency hospital. “Your idea was to erect a new building at Otaki and not use the existing hospital building?” asked the Minister of Sir James, who agreed that that was so. A new hospital usually cost about £IOOO a bed, said the Minister, and a six bed institution would cost some £SOOO or £6OOO. The board could get an estimate and plan from an architect in respect to his Otaki proposal. MR HORNBLOW DEFENDS BOARD The Otaki Hospital topic was practically exhausted, said Mr J. K. Hornblow. He would remind the Minister, however, that originally the board was not to take over the Otaki Hospital, but had later compromised with a view tc. .subsequently erecting an emergency ward merely to receive cases pending their removal to the Palmerston North Hospital, an ambulance to be provided and a nurse to bo stationed at Otaki. Tho board had agreed to providing four beds. Dr. Valintine now said that a building to cost £SOOO to £6OOO was needed and that, combined with administration charges, made a proposition unacceptable to tho board wnich would prefer to retain the old arrangement. He would rather see the present arrangement continue than increase the levy on the department and the whole district by so great an expenditure. A modern building costing some £SOO with two beds, and in addition a small maternity ward adjoining, the whole costing £BOO or £IO6O would, Sir James thought, have sufficed. CLAIMS OF HOROWHENUA END. The chairman, said Mr Monk, apparently did not have the same recognition of the claims of tho Horowhenua end of the district as did the Minister and Dr Valintine, and he was sorry that that was so. Mr Monk proceeded to stress the need for proper maternity treatment at Otaki and went on to suggest that, pending the completion of the big building scheme at Palmerston North, the present Otaki arrangement should bo continued. He thought that tho medical superintendent of tho sanatorium at Otaki had too much to do in looking after the hospital also, and an outside doctor should be appointed to supervise the latter. At least the present Otaki arrangement could be continued for a year or so until the trend of population was known. MR NASH’S SUGGESTION. Mr J. A. Nash asked whether, seeding that there was to be a maternity;

hospital at Palmerston North, it would sufhco to have trained nurses go to maternity cases in the out-districts. If a maternity ward was provided at Otaki all quarters of tho district from Foxton to Kimbol ton would want such institutions. Tho Minister’s present proposal affecting Otaki would be so costly as to make the board prefer to retain the present arrangement. If, however, a maternity ward at Otala was not needed, when travelling nurses were provided, then tho meeting might proceed to discuss the other half of the Minister’s proposal alone —emergency wards for accident and sickness cases. <% Mr Young said that Mr Nash’s suggestion merited favourable consideration—that the board should provide maternity nurses to go to the homes of people in out-districts, in which case a maternity ward at Otaki might not be so urgently needed. Tho board would, however, have to give an undertaking to provide an emergency accident and sickness ward at Otaki. The department was now coining to realise its duty in maternity treatment, ho added, and spoke at some length in that connection. Mr Monk opposed reducing the accommodation at Otaki. Mr Young said that if the board agreed to Mr Nash’s suggestion the department would pay half and also the wages of the ambulance driver needed to bring cases'to Palmerston North. ' “It doesn’t suit me at all,” said Mr Monk, who deemed the board inconsistent in proposing to colse up 18 beds at Otaki leaving only four for emergency cases while the accommodation at Palmerston North was to lie increased. He personally lived sixty miles from the Palmerston North Hospital. Otaki and for 20 miles beyond it constituted the far flung outpost of the board’s district and deserved some place of treatment nearer homo than Palmerston North. He suggested again that until tho Palmerston North building scheme was completed the Otaki hospital should remain as at present. “We are only wasting time,” said the chairman. NO SUB-HOSPITALS WANTED. “The department lias no intention of allowing the Otaki Hospital to become a major sub-hospital. Major operations must bo done at the base hospital proper at Palmerston North,” said tho Minister. “I want to see you all at peace and come to some arrangement between yourselves in which case I can aid you.” “1 want to make it clear that I have no desire to ever have the Otaki Hospital separate from that at Palmerston North,” said Mr Monk who expressed approval of the idea of making all local bodies larger. MR HORNBLOW’S SUGGESTION ADOPTED. After some further discussion Mr Hornblow suggested that the board leave it to the Minister to decide the whole question. The chairman and Mr Monk expressed concurrence with Mr Hornblow, whose suggestion was approved by the board unanimously. The Minister: You agree to abide by my decision then?' “Yes,” answered the members of the board,-and the, discus3ioa terminated^