Hospital and Charitable Aid Board.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 4981, 13 April 1889, Page 2

Hospital and Charitable Aid Board.

The following is the conclusion of yestor* day’s report :

" CONSULTING ” THE SUBGBON

Mr Slee moved, in accordance with notice, to rescind the resolution of the board fixing a fee of 7a 6d for consulting the surgeon by persons able to pay the same. Mr Slee spoke briefly to his motion. He did not approve of hospitals entering into competition with the medical profession ; they were never intended for people able to pay a doctor of their own. The resolution made no distinction between ri;h and poor. The Queen herself could demand a 7s 6d out-patient ticket. Mr Jackson, in seconding the motion, said the hospital should not be subsidised to compete with private practitioners. Mr Barker thought that before rescinding this resolution they should have something to put in its place to check the abuse it was directed against. Ho understood it was asked for to prevent people going to consult the resident surgeon who could ride up in their own carriages. From what the secretary said last board day there had been very few consultation tickets asked for, only six. That could not have caused much loss to the profession. The chairman thought it was rather a question of fee. If the fee were made a guinea this would avoid the competition. Mr Barker thought that would do. Mr Slee considered that no one able to pay a private pratitioner should go to the hospital at all.

Mr Moore thought the hospital should be restricted to charitable cases as far as outpatients were concerned. Mr Barker : Who is to get the guinea—the doctor or the hospital ? Dr Lovegrove said the doctor, of course. Dr Lawson said it would simplify the matter if he applied personally to be allowed to take private consultation practice. His predecessors did so, and ho understood the board had passed a resolution permitting it. It was stated that this was not the case.

Mr Barker suggested that some consultations might take the doctor out of to to, and this would be hardly right; the interests of the hospital might suffer. Mr Jackson thought they were nuking too much fuss about a small matter. These hid only been six of these tickets issued to the class of persons they were speaking of. Dr Lovegrove said ho was aware that Drs Drew and Ewart had been called out to consultations and had received fees for it, but being perfectly aware that there was no resolution he had never done so, on principle, knowing they had no right to go out, so far as their appointments were concerned. It would be a good way to go into the matter and settle for good and all whether the resident surgeon should bo allowed to go to consultations in town and take a fee like any other medical man.

Mr Slee’s motion Was then carried, Mr Barker only dissenting. At a later stage Mr Barker gave notice of the following motion for next meeting : “ That any person not in destitute circumstances wishing to consult the Hospital Surgeon may do so by attending at the Hospital after paying £L to the chairman of the board j all such fees to be credited to the surgeon, v ho in every other respect will be held to the ( *rms of his agreement." OUTPATIENTS. Mr Sleo also moved and it was carried—- “ That tickets for outpatients be signed by two members of the board.” Mr Sleo pointed out that one member of the board might not know the applicant himself, but he might by inquiry find that another member knew the person and could send the applicant to him for the first signature. This had answered very well at Waimate. THE HUKSE3. Mr Moore drew attention to the fact that a nurse who, as Dr Lawson had informed them when asking for an additional cleaner, is in entire charge of the female ward, is only in receipt of £2O a year, and that amount was put down for her in the estimates for the year. Dr Lawson said she was a probationer who had been 14 months in the hospital. Mr Moore remarked that if she was capable of taking charge of a ward she must bo worth more than £2O a year. The chairman said they could consider the matter when they came to deal with the estimates. CHABXTABIiE AID. Mr Sabiston, master of the destitute home, waited on the hoard in connection with a difficult case. A man had been some time in the hospital suffering from paralysis of one side which rendered him unable to stand, or to wovo except with the assistance of a

wheeled chair. There was such a ehair at the hospital. The man refused to submit to hospital discipline—ho would persist in smoking in the sick ward—and was turned out and sent to the home, and was allowed to have the hospital chair. This was, however, required at the hospital, and the patient threatened to make himself a nuisance (he could hardly help doing it) if the chair were taken away. Dr Lawson, who was in attend* ance, said he must have something of the kind.—The chairman was authorised to have a rough chair made, cost not to exceed £5. - _ BOAEDING OUT. In dealing with the sundry applications for relief a letter was received asking the board if they could take charge of an orphan girl of ten in the country, and place where she could get to school, 'ihis opened up the general question of “ boarding-out.” The chairman said there were a few children boarded out at 7s Gd per week each, Mr Moore thought the system should be ex* tended, but he thought 7s 6d was rather too much to pay, 5s or 6s should be enough. In reply to a criticism of this opinion, Mr Jackson asked, if 5s or 6s was not enough. How did men with seven or eight children support them on £2 a week? There are now, it was stated, 13 children in the barracks, for whom the master is paid 7s Gd per week each. It was agreed to try and get more of the children boarded out, at a lower rate than at present if possible. The chairman remarked that much care must be exercised as to the people who were allowed to have children boarded with them ; some simply wanted the 7s Gd per week, and were quite unfit to be trusted with children. He mentioned that two children had lately been adopted. The following resolutions were passed, ou the motion of Mr John Jackson ; “ That the chairman negotiate with the Government, requesting that the old immigration barracks at Timaru be handed over to the board, with a view to their being created into an Orphanage and Home, wherein the destitute children of the district may bo locally provided for 3 and that for such purpose the member for Timaru be requested to co-operate with the board in facilitating this object.” “That the secretary procure the following information and lay on the table at next meeting of the board :—The number of children at Burnham; by whom sent; how long they have been inmates; and how long they are to remains their names and ages ; and their cost to the board ; that the same information be got from the orphanage at Lyttelton and Kelson and the Timaru Baaracks; and respecting those boarded out; finally, the total cost of all destitute children under the board.” In moving these motions, Mr Jackson regretted so much money is sent out of the district every quarter to Burnham and Nelson, and that children born in this district are scattered by being sent away to those places. The time had come for some steps to be taken to bring the children back, and to keep the cost of maintaining them in the dietrict for the future. Some of the children sent away were of the criminal class, and he was of opinion that those should not be maintained out of charitable aid at all, but, like other criminals, out of the same funds as the gaols. It would bo necessary to ascertain how many of the children maintained by the board at the schools were of that class.

The chairman thought if tho Government were properly approached they would hand over the property mentioned. Mr Moore said if all the children were brought down the two classes should be separated. That was the fault of the Burnham school, that the criminal and non-criminal children were mingled together. Mr Jackson did not want tho criminal children brought down at all, un'ess they were taken charge of at the gaol. The board spent a considerable time in dealing with the details of relief distribution, reports of police on the circumstances, and new applicants, etc.