Nothing Doing

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 7241, 22 August 1933, Page 6

Nothing Doing

Free Ambulance Not Getting Hospital Vehicles A decision not to hand over its ambulances to the Free Ambulance Service, was reached at yesterday’s meeting of tho Palmerston North Hospital Board. Mr. G. P. Catley (Ohau) played a lone hand in suggesting that the recommendation of tho executive committee was hardly in accordance with the true position of the Free Ambulance service.

The executive committee reported having considered the position, more especially as regards the request of the Free Ambulance coflimitteo that the board should hand over its ambulances to the coitfmittec. After a full discussion it was unanimously resolved that tho committee recommend that the board adviso tho Free Ambulance committee that the board cannot entertain the proposal to hand over its present service. The Free Ambulance committee, on their own showing, were in a very unsound financial position and there was no indication that the Free Ambulance committee would provide as satisfactory a service to the hospital as can be provided by ambulances under the control of the board.

The chairman (Sir. J. K. Hornblow) said he had nothing to add to tho committee's report. The recommendation was a unanimous one.

Mr. G. P. Catley said it might be that tho Free Ambulance service was not very financial but what should count moro was the service that had been rendered. Ho thought tho records were very much in their favour for in the past year, after, starting from scratch, tho service had conveyed 452 cases to hospital. That was a very good beginning. Mr. Catley said he looked upon the servico as a reform and there was always a lot of hard work to be gone through beforo success was attained. He was not concerning himself with the financial side so long as tho service was being run efficiently and he thought that it was. "This is probably the end of the first round only,” concluded the speaker. The board adopted the committee’s recommendation without further comment.