OTAGO HOSPITAL BOARD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20283, 16 December 1927, Page 7

OTAGO HOSPITAL BOARD.

MONTHLY MEETING. The monthly meeting of the Otago Hospital Board was held last nighty and was attended by Messrs W. E. S. Knight (in the chair), A. Quelch, Dr Newlands, D. M'Lennan, J. Dove, J. W. Scurr, G. Alorgan, D. Larnach and G. Callaway. INSTALLATION OF BOILERS. A letter was received from the Director of Health advising that one of the department’s inspectors would visit Dunedin shortly in connection with the erection of the proposed laundry.—Mr Gallaway asked when the boilers, which had been ordered and were now on hand, were to be in stalled. When they were ordered it was stressed by the Works Committee that they were needed urgently. It did not appear that there was any urgency at all, and as things were going at present it looked as if they would not be installed for another year or so, if they had to wait until the laundry was erected. Dove said it was obvious that the boilers at present in the boiler-house were almost past their sphere of usefulness, and that the new ones would certainly be needed in the near future; in fact, they must have them before the coming winter He regretted that the plans for the new laundry had ever been allowed to go to Wellington, and he thought that they should go past the Director-general of Health and approach the Minister direct.—Air Gallaway agreed that the boilers were badly needed, but he said he was surprised that they had been on hand for so long without anything being done with them.—The Chairman s aid that he hardly thought that going to the Alinister would get them any further, more especially as a departmental inspector would be here very shortly.—The letter was received and the discussion lapsed. CORRESPONDENCE. The Town Dunedin, wrote in reference to a suggestion by the board that the section of King and Cumberland streets adjacent to the Hospital be closed to motor traffic between the hours of 6 p.m. and 8 a.m., and pointed out that the closing of the streets was an impossibility without a special by-law being passed.—Received. Mr A. V Keisenberg, secretary of the New Zealand Hospital Boards’ Association, wrote explaining that an article in the association’s bulletin to which exception had been taken by Dr Newlands at the last meeting of the board had been written by himself, and in no way represented the views of his association.—Received. i HOSPITAL STATISTICS. The monthly statistics of the Hospital for November showed that at the end of the month there were 242 patients in the institution (137 males and 105 females). During the month 181 males and 157 females were admitted, and 181 males and 143 females were discharged or had died. The total number of patients treated was 556 (518 males and 248 females). Operations performed, 148. Out-patients; Surgical attendances . 665; medical attendances, 375; gynaecological attendances, 32; opthalmio attendances, 222. CONTRACTS WITH HOUSE SURGEONS. The Chairman referred to _ a motion passed at the previous meeting of the board to the effect that appointments of junior house surgeons be made subject to a definite contract for 12 months, and in accordance with a previous notice of motion, moved—“ That the motion be rescinded.” Mr Knight said this was the first time he had found it necessary to move the rescinding of a motion already passed by the board. He was of opinion that if the motion standing in the book remained they were contravening their by-laws. Also, he considered the motion had been passed rather hurriedly. He would like the members to agree with him on rescinding the motion, and the matter could then be referred back to the committee. Dr Newlands seconded Mr Knight’s motion, and said that although he had sponsored a motion that the condidatcs should give an undertaking that they would remain for 12 months, to ask them to sign a bond immediately after being appointed was, be thought, inadvisable. He would like to see the chairman motion accepted. Mr Gallaway said that, as the mover of the resolution which the chairman wished rescinded, he saw no reason why it should b e rescinded. Further, the chairman had given no reason for wisning it to be removed from the minute book. Mr Knight: Not in the meantime. Mr Gallaway considered the hospital would be more efficient if the board knew it had its house surgeons there for a definite time. The chairman himself had said that a number of the house surgeons had simply made use of the board. Such agreements as that suggested in his motion were made in business circles, and he could not see why they should not be in hospital boards. It should be quite a simple matter to get voung doctors to stay with them 12 months. Air Quelch also saw no reason why the motion should be rescinded. If the hoard told a house surgeon to go after he had been at the Hospital a few months, there would be an outcry, and there was no reason why he should be allowed to leave just as he liked. The Otago University had a binding agreement with its professors. If a house surgeon intended to stay for 12 months, he should have no objection to signing an agreement. In reply to Mr Gallaway, the Chairman denied having stated that house surgeons made use of the board. He considered that an agreement between the board and a house surgeon should be in the nature of a moral undertaking on the part of the latter. Moreover, ne knew of no instance where a house surgeon had left the board’s service within his prescribed period of 12 months. He could not see that it was necessary For these men to enter into a bond, as, >f they did there as nothing to prevent them from breaking it: also, the question would arise of how they were to be penalised. Moreover, if one of them did leave, there would be no difficulty in netting another, especially a junior. The motion was then put to the meeting and was lost COMMITTEE REPORTS. The reports of the Benevolent, Sanatorium, Hospital, and Finance Committees were adopted without discussion.