HOSPITAL TRUSTEES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9511, 20 August 1892, Page 5 (Supplement)

HOSPITAL TRUSTEES.

\ The usual meeting of the Hospital Trustees was •held on Wednesday afternoon, and was attended by the Chairman (Mr Miller), Messrs Robin, Wills, Wright, Carroll, Brown, Green, Clark, and Myers.

■ TheCiiAiRMAN said that the committee appointed at last meeting to consider tho question of the various trusts had met, but had not been able t.o, bring up a report. This would, however, bo done at next meeting. . . reports. I The House Committee reported that' Nurse Child had tendered her resignation, which had been accepted. Some repairs had been effected in the rriof of the operating theatre. The expenditure involved would not exceed LlO. Tho house surgeon had been granted 10 days' leave of absence from the 20th inst. An asphalt pathway was being laid down from the entrance of tho avenue to the door of the Nurses' Home, at a cost of L 4 15s 6d. Miss Alice Harrison had been appointed housekeeper at a salary of L 55 a-year. This Appointment had been made in terms of the byelaws, and with a view of preventing friction and overlapping of duties. The matron's duties would now be strictly confined to the superintendence of the nursing department and the management of the Nurses' Home. —Approved. The Finance Committee reported that accounts for the month of July, amounting to L 532 7s lOd, had been examined and passed for payment, subject to the approval of the trustees. The receipts for July were as follows .'—ln-patients, LS4 19s 6d ; out-patients, L 6 4s; sales, L 22 5s 9d; donation, Mr Mandl, L 7 7s -—total, Ll2O 163 3d. The receipts for the present month, up to date; were as follows :—ln-patients, tj37 18s ; out-patients, L 3 14s 6d ; voluntary contributions, LI (is ;—total, L 42 18s 6d. The bank pass-book showed a credit balance of Ll7O 18s 4d ; cash on hand, Lll 4s ;— total, LlB2 2s 4d. The sum of hill 11s 7d would be required from the Hospital Board for the payment of salaries and accounts for the month of July.—Adopted. The Building Committee reported that Mr R. Meikle had been paid LS4O, and Mr George Armstrong L2B, on account of the new building, since last meeting. The bank pass-book showed a debit balance of Lt39. The committee had authorised the expenditure of L 54 18s Cd over the smoke flues in connection with the Manchester stoves, shown to be necessary by the architects. —Adopted. Returns laid on the table showed that the number remaining in the hospital on January 1,1891, from the previous year, was 61 males, 30 females. Tho number admitted during the .year was 541 males, 323 females; total, 002 males and 353 females. The number discharged during the year, cured or relieved, was 429 males and 259 females ; incurable or discharged at their request, 42 males and 25 females. The number of deaths during the year was 79 males and 35 females. The number remaining on January 1, 1892, was 52 males and 34 females. A return of the out-patients for the month of July, which was laid on the table, showed that 575 cases were being treated.—The medical report was laid on the table. COIIUESrONDENCE. Dr Macgregor wrote that the explanation of the circumstances and treatment of the late Mrs Lloyd, while a patient in the Dunedin Hospital, was held by the Government to be satisfactory. He had written to Mr Lloyd, stating that he was satisfied that he (Lloyd) was mistaken in thinking that his wife was neglected, either by doctors or nurses.—Received. Dr Coughtrey wrote, in reply to a resolution of che trustees received, that he thoroughly reciprocated their feelings. He had always had great sympathy with the trustees in the difficulties they had to contend with, and it had been his sincere aim to assist them in every way. He felt that unfortunate errors such as occurred in the case he had to deil with could be easily rectified by a simple regulation to meet such circumstances. It was that, and that alone, he desired ; not censure of any individual.—Received. INTERCHANGE Ol1 NURSING. Dr Trilby King submitted, through the medium of a letter, the question of the desirability of an interchange of nursing instruction between the hospital and the asylum. He referred to the success of the system, as carried out elsewhere. If the board viewed the proposal favourably it might be tried by sending two or three volunteers in exchange for ii like number of asylum nurses for a period of say three months, during which a special course of instruction would be given on both sides.

Mr Brown said "he would move—"That Dr Trilby King's letter be received, and that he be notified that the trustees regret that they cannot see their way to comply with his request." They had just started a new system of nursing which was working admirably, and to send the nurses to Seacliff as suggested would disorganise the hospital and do the nurses themselves harm rather than good. The trustees wished them to attend to the sick, not the insane, and by sending them to the asylum—even if the trustees had the power to do so, which the speaker very much doubted—they ran the risk of lessening the gentleness, tenderness, kindliness, and sympathy which in a hospital nurse were the chief elements of success.

Mr. Wright did not see that any harm would arise to the nurses by the proposed change.

Mr Carroll did not think it would be a good ihing to compel anyone in the establishment to

Mr Robin would support the motion of Mr Brown.

The Chairman said Dr King called on him on Monday and asked when the trustees met, and he (the speaker) replied Wednesday. Ho told the doctor that the matter had been before the House Committee, but they had no recommendation to make. The doctor thought it would be a grand thing to get the nurses some experience in nursing the insane. The speaker had told him it would not be fair to compel any of their nurses to go to Seacliff, and that it must be done voluntarily. Some of their nurses, after they had served a time, had to live by private nursing, and some knowledge in lunacy nursing might be of assistance to them then.

Mr Guken seconded the motion, which was carried.

THE CAJirjIBLL BEQUEST. The Inspector of Audit forwarded a copy of a memo, received from the Controller and AuditorKeneral, which stated that the subsidy on the Campbell bequest had been paid over to the hospital, and was liable to be spent iv current expenses. Hut by the 17th section of the act of ISSB, the subsidy must form part of the bequest. This LSOO must, therefore, be paid back to the Hospital Board, and invested as part of the bequest. He requested that the above instructions be attended to as soon as possible.

Mr Griskn said there was no doubt if the Auditor-general were correct that they would have to refund the mouey, but the board would have to make provision for it, and as tho subject had been brought officially under the board's notice, they would no doubt get a communication from them on the matter. They could only make a requisition to the Hospital Board, and the board would have to make provision for raising the sum by a levy on the local bodies. He would move that tho board be informed that the Auditorgeneral had expressed such an opinion, and had preferred a request that the amount be refunded. That being tho case tho trustees respectfully request that the board provide for this refund by adding LSOO to the trustees' estimates for the current year. Mr Romx said the reason that influenced the board to pay the money over was that Mrs Campbell in her will said that the interest and all profit arising therefrom was to lie handed over to the hospital, and the board only should take it when a substitute was provided arising from the bequest. Mr Giier.v asked if there were not some doubts still as to whether the whole of the money should not be handed over to the trustees. The Chairman said there was something in Mr Green's remarks. A judge of tho Supreme Court would have to decide that point yet. The motion was carried. The meeting then went into committee.