RED CROSS WORK

Otago Witness, Issue 3332, 23 January 1918, Page 7

RED CROSS WORK

AUXILIARY HOSPITAL O.FFERED. FOR RETURNED SOLDIERS. A deputation from the. Reel Cross Society of Otago and Southland waitod on the Hon. Sir James Allen at the Grand Hotel on Friday afternoon to offer the Government an auxiliary hospital for returned soldiers in Dunedin, which 'the society is prepared tc establish, equip, and maintain, and also undertake the financial responsibility. The deputation, which was introduced by Mr C. E. Statham, M.P., consisted of Mrs Butterworth, Miss Rattray, the Rev. Vincent King, and Messrs R. Conn, C. B. Smith, E. Rosevear, J. E. Bone, and R, W. Glendining. The Rev. Mr King, who acted as spokesman, explained the offer. He said that they were prompted to do so by the fact that there, was congestion at the Dunedin Hospital due to the fact that men whose cases were not acute had to be kept there. Most of these men did not require skilled hospital treatment, but were not sufficiently recovered to send to 'their own homes. Theinstitution which the society was offering to the Government would serve as a sort of midway institution between the General Hospital and. the men's homes. Another reason which prompted the offer was that Dunedin people did not see as much_ of the invalid returned eoldier as people did who lived in the north, and i-ho establishment of the institution would bring about an improvement in this respect. The Dunedin people had responded loyally to appeals for funds, and the branch he represented had sent large sums to Hanmer and other places for the benefit of returned soldiers. The society did not intend to open a very large place at first. A matter of, say, 20 beds would probably be the capacity of the building to start with. They were desirous that it should be placed "under the control of the Defence Department or the Hospital authorities. They wished the Government to appoint a matron. Whilst the society was prepared to undertake the financial responsibility, they thought that if a subsidy could be given by the ' Government so much the better. He understood there was an allowance of about 14s per week granted by the Government for each putjont. The assistants necessary to run the institution, other than the matron, would not be a charge on the Government. Sir James AHcn, on behalf of the Government, thanked the society for its generous offer, but he was not prepared to give a definite answer offhand, as it would bo necessary for him to consult Surgeongeneral * Henderson. He was pleased the offer had been made, as it gave him the opportunity of saying something about Red Cross work. " The outbreak of war found the Red Cross organisations ill-prepared, and the Government had to find money to undertake, work which should have been controlled by the Red Cross Society. He was pleased, however, that the Red Cross had now come into its own. The people of the dominion had collected large sums of money, which had been sent to England and elsewhere for Red Cross work, and this money had accumulated. He suggested that some of the money collected should be retained in New Zealand to assist wounded soldiers. The Governmentwas doing a good deal in this respect. What was necessary for the invalid soldier was some occupation, such as |leather-work, wood-carving, sewing, knitting, or embroidery. This functional training was being attended to by the Government, and he (the speaker) was encouraging it to the full extent of his power. The Government was spending £460 at Hanmer in connection with this work, and similar amounts would be expended in Dunedin and other hospitals where invalid soldiers were located. For instance, the Government found that jaw cases arriving in New Zealand had been improperly treated before being despatched to "the" dominion, and the Government was so impressed with this that it had sent PrcJiessor Pickerill abroad to" attend to these cases. He found that some of the men had to be fed artificially for a period of two months, but under "treatment they hud done well, and some of them were now back in the trenches. He was pleased to state that the Dunedin Hospital would be a supplementary institution for ' orthopredic treatment. The institution at Hanmer had developed into a place for neurasthenic patients. They had convalescent homes at Dovonport, Lowry Bay, and other places which had become useful institutions. The question of the control of the institution which the society .had offered to the Government was important. He was bound to admit that dual control by the Public Health and Defence Departments was most unsatisfactory. Regarding the training of medical men to meet the exigencies of invalid soldiers returning to New Zealand, he had given instructions that some of the medical men attached to the N.Z.M.C. were to be -given special training. They were also exchanging medical officers in New Zealand for men at the front, and New Zealand soldiers returning wounded to the dominion would have the benefit of the experience these medical officers had gained. He hoped that any action taken by the local branch of the Red Cross Society would have the full sanction of the principal body in the dominion. Mr Conn said the local branch had a representative at headquarters. Sir James Allen was pleased to know that they were not dissociating themselves from headquarters. Ho was particularly anxious to sec the Red Cross take its proper place in war time, and hoped it would continue to exist when peace was restored.