HOSPITAL NEED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23200, 21 November 1938, Page 14

HOSPITAL NEED

ADEQUATE BUILDINGS SERIOUS OVERCROWDING PROMPT ACTION ESSENTIAL SPECIAL MEETING, CALLED "Conditions at the hospital as re- . gards accommodation, are intolerable, and we are determined to bring the whole matter of the building programme to a head without further delay," said the chairman of tho Auckland Hospital Board, Mr. Allan J. Moody, at the week-end, in announcing that ii special meeting of the board would ho. held on Wednesday to receive full reports and consider what action should be taken. '"Tho lack of proper buildings has created a .state of affairs that is really grave," . Mi'. Moody continued. "Cramped aiid unsuitable accommodation f-due to'the absence of a proper building policy* in the past, has caused the administrative efficiency of"the hos-pital-to suffer and has thrown unnecessary burdens on every class of people employed'in-the institution, most of all the nurses. *. Important Departments Hampered "Every .department is overcrowded and the public should know that the situation "has become so urgent that n course of action will have to be determined by tho board in tho shortest time possible. The task ahead is too huge and complicated for any more delay over preliminaries." Three import-ant departments—casualty,. X-ray and oar, nose and throat—were being carried on in totally inadequate quarters, to the great discomfort of patients and staffs, Mr. Moody taid. The casualty, department alone often dealt with, more than 100 patients a day, yet it was housed in the basement of' the. Wallace Block, which had been designed for a totally different' purpose. If it wore desired to receive more patients in the car, nose and throat , department, they would have to bo treated .in the open air, as tho accommodation was taxed to its utmost. ' ? Insanitary Wards Through tho generosity of a number of public-spirited people, -comfortable chairs' and couches had been, provided in the waiting room oE the. admitting department in place of the hard benches which hitherto had been its only furniture. The board had made similar improvements in the X-ray and car, nose and throat departments, and tho casualtv department would next be be dealt with. That, however, would not relieve the discomfort due to overcrowding. , , , , Mr. Moody said he had lately made an inspection of the old wooden wards near the main entrance, and .in his opinion these would bo a disgrace to u country hospital in a backward district . Apart from the danger of fire, they were insanitary, ill-designed and many,years out of date. Conditions in the "fever wards were, little better. "I .cannot say too much in praise of the nursing staff and the lady superintendent, Miss Nutsey," added Mi. Moody. "They aro simply herioc,, and 1 wonder how they manage to carry on. For their sake as well as for that of the patients, we cannot allow matters to drift any longer."