SOUTH OTAGO HOSPITAL

Otago Witness, Issue 3518, 16 August 1921, Page 52

SOUTH OTAGO HOSPITAL

MONTHLY MEETING OF BOARD. The monthly meeting of the South Otago Hospital Board held on t rid ay was attended by iuersrs A. Aorta (chairman), 11. M. Driver, -Jas. Gumming, Jasper Clark, J. Rutherford, J. Alosiey, VV . A. Biair, A. a. Malcolm, M.P., H. hunso.'i, and A. Rennie. Accounts totalling £417 7s 7d, to which members’ travelling expenses had to be added, were passed for payment. On the morion of Mr Driver the whole board was appointed the finance committee, three to form a quorum. The Hospital and Charitable Aid Committee reports were adopted. The Charitv abie Aid Committee stated that no new eases has arisen during the month; two of tlie previous cases reported were recommended io be sent for admission to the Benevolent Institution, Dunedin. Nurse Paddock wrote stating that having been appointed matron of the Louisa Roberts’ Hospital, Midd'emarch, she was unable to accept the position of district nurse at Tnhakopa. The matter of securing a nurse was left in the hands of the chairman with power to act. KAITAN GAT A HOSPITAL. Dr iti-.tviouui, jueparuueti L ui Health, vvroie wan regard to tap rvaiu-iiguta. irospitai, stating t-uat it count not be maintaineci tnat SKiUed nursing was unuvtiiuune in Kaitangata wnne Aurse BaKeman ana Am iron Clements, bom hospital lauiieu nurses and experienced in miuwucry, served in that capacity. An important teature in considering v\ nether or not tne institution ot maternity oecls in a mining community would prove a success was the fact that the maternity work, with tlie miners’ wives was carried out on a contract basis, and as would be seen from Miss Broad’s report the arrangements .with Nurse Lakeman were so xavourabie financially and otnerwise to the miners’ wives that there might be considerable difficulty in persuading them to leave their homes and enter ttie hospital. VV ith regard to the suggestion of the Nurse Inspector that if a maternity block was constructed on the hospital grounds and did not justify its existence it would be used as a women s ward lor general illness, he suggested that that was untenable. 'the Otago Hospital Board found that the Kaitangata Hospital was very often far from fully occupied, and if the South Otago Board built a hospital in Balclutha obviously further extension of a general nature at Kaitangata would be justified. He would suggest that no further <iction ho taken until some clefinite assurances were given that patients would be forthcoming to fill any beds the board might provide. Miss Broad s suggestions that an out-patients’ depar cent would be an advantage was a good one. He understood that the doctor saw most of his pat iontu, there, and that the present facilities were not good. Perhaps part ot the present men’s ward, the partition of which was under consideration by the board, could, by means of light partitioning, be devoted to that purpose. Maternity nursing was in every way encouraged by the department, but in reporting to the hoard he had to give consideration to all the facts : Nurse Broad’s report, which was. appended, stated (inter alia) that Mrs Clements, matron of the public hospital, was trained in the Southland Hospital, but not registered. Nurse Lakeman, tiamed m the Southland Hospital, and registered had been the nurse employed by the Coal and Oil Company for the last five years. Neither had had maternity training, but each had had years of experience in the work. There were no trained midwives practising in the district; the names of four women who had attended, maternity cases at their homes were given, and two homes where maternity patients were accommodated. She had talked with three people who were anxious to have a maternity block in connection with the hospital—the matron. Dr Reekie, and Mr Boylan, a member of the , Hospital Committee. Mr Boylan was of opinion that any stirring up or enthusiasm would have to come from outside, most people being content with the conditions that had been successful for their parents and those before. The number of cases goinc through to Balclutha seemed comparatively few, and the opinion was that these would go to the hospital at Ivaitangata with altered conditions. Nurse Lakeman had informed her that as the company nurse, she attended confinements and gave attendance to mother and baby for 10 days afterwards for the normal fee of 5s in all. The doctor leeeived 20s per ease and this fee did not vary, as most of the residents belonged to either the Medical Club or lodge. Nurse Lakeman had been in and out of the homes for so long that she had gathered that the women themselves did not desire any better conditions. They could get a girl to do the work, stay at home, and have a nurse in attendance for the expenditure of very little, whereas if they left home it would mean paying some woman to take charge of the home. Should a maternity ward be started at the hospital the general opinion seemed to be that the present ward should on no account bo divided, as it would lose its usefulness should a big accident come in. The nurse inspector added that if used as a maternity ward she thought it would !>e much too adjacent to the men’s ward. She suggested the building of a small maternity block on the ground adjoining the present building. Tf found not to be justifying its existence for maternity cases it would not be money wasted, as the doctor would be very o-lad of a women’s ward, and above all of an out-patients’ department. The matter was deferred for a month pending Dr Wylie’s report. On the motion of Mr Malcolm it was decided to write to the matron. Public TTon 1 1 1 1 Department. Wellington, asking how many patients could he attended to by the present staff. The matron of the hosnilnl submitted her report, for the month of July. She also reported in regard to the instruments at tHhospital, which wore onlv the instruments required for minor troubles. With the widening of the scope of usefulness of the hospital it might; fie necessarv to provide many instruments not, previously required.