OUTSIDE WORK

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24231, 24 March 1942, Page 4

OUTSIDE WORK

BOARD AND DOCTOR ACTING SUPERINTENDENT THE QUESTION OF CONTROL The position of the acting-medical superintendent. Dr. W. Gilmour, was discussed ,by the Auckland Hospital Board last night. The chairman, Mr. Allan J. Moody, said the question whether the board or the medical administration was in charge of the hospital was involved. Mr. Moody said the matter arose after a patient had died at the hospital. Dr. Gilmour performed a postmortem examination at the direction of the coroner, and when Mr. Moody asked him for a copy of his findings Dr. Gilmour made inquiry of the coroner as to whether he should divulge these. It might be technically correct that they could not make Dr. Gilmour divulge his report, but he was holding a dual position which brought about an absurd state of affairs. Dr. Gilmour should no longer be available for outside duties. Higher Salary Suggested Mr. R. J. Coates agreed that an employee should be at the board's service entirely. Their remedy was that he should get a larger salary, say £ISOO or £I6OO, and be entirely their servant. Mr. Moody said he was prepared to move that the services of Dr. Gilmour be no longer available for outside work. He was getting £I3OO plus £IOO while he was acting as superintendent. There was nothing personal about his proposal. Mr. J. Sayegh suggested that the superintendent should be informed of the feeling of the board before action was taken. He moved that the matter should be referred to the Finance Committee to inquire whether Dr. Gilmour's services should be made available for outside work. This was adopted. Infectious Diseases Wards At a" later stage Mr. Moody referred to the recent outbreak of typhoid at Otahuhu, and made strong complaint that he had not been informed of this by Dr. Gilmour. He said that in September last the board had directed that fever patients be transferred to wards which had been built for infectious diseases, but that instruction had not been carried out, and these wards were being u/sed for female orthopoedic cases. There were now 35 cases of diphtheria at the hospital and 15 cases of typhoid waiting to go in. There were 60 or 70 vacant beds at the soldiers' hospital to which the orthopoedic patients could easily be transferred .\ Members expressed surprise that the fever wards had not been used for the purpose intended, and a motion was passed supporting the chairman's action in directing that they be so used and that all matters of extraordinary nature at the hospital must be reported.