THE HOSPITAL BOARD.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 281, 26 October 1934, Page 6

THE HOSPITAL BOARD.

(To the Editor.) Sir,—Last Saturday you were good enough to interview Dr. Oampoe Begg, and Wellington will appreciate ills remarks because he agitated. superman as medical superintend who was to control everything m hospital, and yet he applauds Palmerston North folk lot “ ak |" { = their secretary the general contiol at £IOOO a year. In Wellington under Dr. Begg s reorganisation tne board was divided into committees— general purpose, tees, social welfare and hous committees. Then there was a medical council and also a . c ° m f? lttee „ P* the honorary staff of which the medical superintendent was the secretary, and this committee had a delegate who sat on the house committee of tne Hospital Board. So you see though Die medical superintendent was nominally in charge of the hospital, he was really nothing at all because the honerary staff ran the whole show, and the medical superintendent was subordinate to them. Then to cap it all two of the honorary staff were elected to the board and as a result were superior to the medical superintendent, in Palmerston North the object is apparently the same, namely, control by the honorary staff. Dr. Campbell Begg recommends a junior type of medical man, inferior to the honbrary staff. There was to be set up a controlling committee of the medical men of the town which included the honorary staff, and your secretary was to be a full blown member of this committee. The matron was to be under the secretary and naturally the medical superintendent became a mere puppet or figure-head or Aunt Sally to be shot at. This will still happen if the board members do not scrutinise the conditions of control to be exercised by the new medical superintendent. If the scheme succeeds then in ten years’ time the next step of “paying wards” will be brought in and more interesting to the public will be the question who is going to decide whether the patient is to be sent to the paying ward or to the “poor wards,” and further what will happen if the patient refuses to go into the paying wards and will the honorary staff treat him in the “poor wards”? —I am, etc., - CURIOUS.