HOSPITAL AT KAITANGATA.

Otago Witness, Issue 2809, 15 January 1908, Page 31

HOSPITAL AT KAITANGATA.

ACHIEVEMENT EST SIGHT. DR BATCHELOR ON HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATION. {Fhom Ora Special EEPOETsa.) KAITANGATA, January 10. Mr TVf. Stevenaoa, chairman of the Hospital Board, and Dr Batcholor, one of its members, paid a visit to Kaitangata to-da.y for the purpose of inspecting a proposed site for a cottage hospital for Kaitangaia and surrounding districts. They were met by the Mayor, Mr O. E. Yates, and proceeded at once to inspect the site, which is situated on a sunny slope on the east side of the township, and is about five minutes' waJk from the- Railway Station. The sits consists of nearly two acres, and is part of a borough reserve of over J.QO acres. It commands" a fine view of the Inchclutha plain, and is well sheltered, and seems in every respect a most desirable spot for such an - institution ac it is proposed to erect there. The reserve is under lease to the New Zealand Coal said Oil Company, but it- is* understood that the company is quite willing to part with this./ particular piece of land for -the purpose mentioned. -But before that can be done special legislation, over which no difficulty is anticipated, to vest the land in the bqard will be necessary. 'The party visiting the site, consisting of jabout half a dozen" gentlemen, had "a lengthy conventional discussion as to ways and means. It is understood that Mr • Robert Lee, who has alwjps "taken a keen interest in procuring , a hospital for Kaitangata, and who accompanied the party, has offered £50 a year for six years towards the maintenance "of the institution. The local people expressed a desire to know exactly what the board would do towards the erection of a suitable building, the Mayor indicating that funds could be raised looally to assist. It was finally decided to lay before the Hospital Board the offer from the Kaitengata people to subscribe £300 _ towards the. erection of the building, carrying with it the " Government ' subsidy, if the^ board .would undertake to erect a five-roomed cottage and ward with six beds for men, baiihroom, and small operating: room, Kaitangata providing the site. The probabl" cost mentioned was about £1000. It was a3so decided that the Kaitangata people would give £180 for the first year and £60 f for the -five following years towards the' payment of c nurse, on the •understanding that tile nurse was not to be withdrawn, though tihere^ might 'be no cases in the hospital fot'£ few- months even, and that any payments-^made by patients should go to the ' funds of the board.. Df Fit^jerald " expressed Iris readiness to act as "hon. medical - officer, . and stated that both "Dr Stenhouse and'Dr Burnett, of; Balolutha, would assist. These proposals 1 wfll be laid before the Hospital Board at : the first opportunity. In the afternoon Dr -Batchelor addressed j at meeting- He was very pleased to^have been afforded an opportunity 'of being present. He had always been "deeply interested in hospital matters, and considered the public was not sufficiently -informed thereon. A community; such as ours differed from that of the Old Country, where.leisured men were able to devote time and 'study to the complex and intricate subject of 'administration pi modern hospitals. He knew of no one* in this Dominion outside the medical ' profession who had the slightest pretext ! to speak with auithority on. the subject. \ For this reason, therefore, in his opinion a duty was cast an the profession to speak out "boldly on the subject, and in this respect he held the medical profession had failed in -its duty either from apathy, diffi- . dence, or timidity. He said he had long held- arid expressed the opinion .that in certain districts cottage hospitals were urgently needed, and there was no dis^ trict -where one was more urgently required than. Kaitangata. His visit had confirmed and strengthened that opinion. In referring to some* of the functions and advantages of a cottage hospital as distinct from a general hospital, he said accidents to which Kaitangata was peculiarly liable were ■o^fceTl* cwyooinpxniec!- "by stoclc .ancl colla.pse 7 and a. train journey must tend to unfavour- ' able results. Then, ,in n'opeless cases there ' might be no accommodation in the Aome, i and it was rather cruel to remove the j patient to the general hospital, when he j could be as well and more humanely treated 1 in the local cottage hospital. Another point ths speaker made was that the local medical man was in many cases better acquainted with the case and with the .circumstances surrounding it. On the other hand, th* country districts i gained an. enormous advantage from a large general hospital | Facilities must exist there for the diagnosis , and treatment of a case that could not i exist in a small hospial. He went on to j speak of the apparatus to be found m the large hospital, referring in particular . to a well-equipped laboratory, which in the casa of the T>unedin Hospital had cost ' £10GO, and tviieli required a large annual expenditure to keep up, and Had the advantage of the services -of a skilled expert, and did not cost the ratepayer a single penny, being provided for by the fees from ■ medical students. There ;was the X Ray apparatus, with an expert to operate it, a : strons medical staff ready to meet in con- ; sultation, a thoroughly-equipped operating room, a sterilising apparatus, and surgical appliances which could not reasonably be expected in a email hospital; and the ] existence of specialists for various com- ' plaints, who were better able to cope with a special class of cases. THhev must know perfectly well that he did net for a moment wish- to discredit the . local talent: They were „ justly proud of their local men. In Dunedin, they had, reason to, be proud of their;, asr for the most part they had received their training .in their profession at a Dunedin medical school. The Dunedin ex j pert, if he had to undertake the multi- j tudihous duties that fell to the lot_ of a - country practitioner, would find himself very much ai sea. Two years ago h© had j sought a. seat on the Charitable A->d. Board* i

' with a definite object in view, because he thought the Hospital was badly managea. The staff would ask for appliances wiucn it considered essential to succeasfully carry" on its work, and it would be told there were no funds available. He had been told that the country people held the purse strings, and that no money could be got out of them, but he had found that, instead of opposing anything needed for the sick poor, the country representatives had assisted him very much,, on many occa sion6 more than the town members. Since he had been a trustee of the Dunedm Hospital d<uri-ig the last two months, he had spent a great deal of time at thfhospital, and had been able to get more l>ehind the scenes, and he was more than firmly convinced that the past management had, in many respects, been bad. The management had been penurious and parsimonious in the extreme in some instances, and there had been wasteful extravagance in others. At the same time the mem- i bers in the past had, he admitted, a very difficult position to fill. They had had to convert an old unsuitable building into a ', modern hospital, and that was rather a difficult task. They had been like a -man with a short blanket on a cold night. When , he pulled it down to keep his feet warm his chest got coM, and when he pulled it i up to keep his che6t warm his feet got cold, -i The policy for great many -^eirs bud keen robbing Peter to . pay Paul. The position now, however, was, owing to the generosity of the public, much better than it ever- had been. Excellent modern wards i were nqw provided for all in-patients .tn.J 1 he believed he was not . divulging a State secret when he told them that their able , chairman. Mr Solomon^ aided by their ' energetic country representative, Mr Steven- I , son, were now working out a scheme where- j '-by the main block might be converted into an excellent' administrative' department, which would answer- all their requirements for many years to come.^ This would mean a considerable increase in the efficiency of the hospital without any great increased expenditure. Once this was i effected the finances of the hospital woulri j for the first time be placed on a stable footing. They would then know what thd j j actual cost of n^intenance was, and although there would be increased expendi- I ' ture in some directions he believed that I many economies might be effected wil.i j a very greatly increased efficiency. The '. i trouble seemed to have been that the local ' board' had never taken the country into its ' confidence. If the present board wanted 1 anything it should come to the country members and tell them what it wanted, and what it was wanted for, and he was sura ■ it could always count upon the staunch i sunnort of the country member Sj provmL'i<* I they were satisfied that its demands were ! reasonable.— (Applause.) ' On the motion of the Mayor (who- presided), a vote of titanks was accorded to ! Dr Batchelor and Mr Stevenson, and this i was acknowledged by Mr Stevenson.