TWO YEARS’ WORK.

Southland Times, Issue 17014, 12 April 1912, Page 2

TWO YEARS’ WORK.

OF HOSPITAL A33MCX2TXSTUATION. . • Mil A.- F... H-AWKK’ts-- REPORT. , I Tin. 1 following-report, deal!ns v.-ith the- | work of the Southland Hospital and ! Charitable Aid Board, lias beer, compiled Iby Mr A. I-'’. Hawke, who has boon j chairman of that body for the past two ! years. Mr Hawke thanks his fellow | members for their assistance and goes lon to say:— I “The operation of the Act of 1909, whereby all Hospitals and Charitable In- ! stitutions i.n the district were placed ! under the control of one Board \has been so far satisfactory except that section of the Act dealing with the maintenance !of persons from outside district!.'. This Ids' causing a good deal of friction bei twetn the different Boards pu account of | the difficulty of always obtaining proof lof re-ideucc and thus deciding which board is liable. I An Unsatisfactory Clause. I The sort ion of the Act, which, is very 1 far-reaching, ■ rends as follows;- — | ‘-When a person receives relief from lor at the expense of a hospital and i charitable aid board at any time before j he has resided in the district of that 1 board for one year immediately prior to j the grant of that relief, the board may ■ recover the cost of the relief so granted i to that person as a debt due by the 1 board in whose district he last resided j for a period of two years at any lime 'prior to the granting of that relief. whether ho was .still resident in that district or not at the time when the relief was granted.' ".It will therefore be soen that persons may travel ail over the dominion, and unless they have been in a district for twelve months, the board wherein they last resided for two years is still liable for thoir maintenance, even though that board has never been consulted in the matter, in my opinion the section is unworkable on account of the difficulty in, fixing liability, and I consider that the Act should be amended, and the different hospitals should admit cases requiring treatment irrespective as to where they come from. In other respects the operation of the Act has I think made for economy in. the administration of the Board's different, institutions and departments, and after two years’ experience I feel that this Board acted AvUcly in not appointing committees. There is always a danger of a committee and hoard coining .into, conflict in. the matter of policy. Tito method adopted by this Board, whereby all the members meet once a month as a Finance Committee enables every member through the reports of the Board's officers to he in close touch with all the details of the working of the. different institutions, and this lias .worked satisfactorily as far as this Board is concerned, and 1 do not recommend any change. Matters Financial. “ The Board's expenditure on its different institutions lor the years ending -March, 1911, and March, 1912, was £15,264 13s 6U, and £15,792 Ss 8d respectively. The year just ended therefore shows an increase of £527 13s Gd, but as public health is a new department this year, and-we leave out its expenditure of £2 73 3s Bd, we have for comparative purposes an actual Increase in expenditure of £254 15s lOd over the year 1911.” A Seducible Stats. The chairman then goes on to show the Board’s finances (published in another column), and continues:—" The demands made hy the Board on the different contributing authorities for the past four years have been as. follows: 1908, £6068; 1009, £5066; 1910, £3343; 1911, £5873; and during that peripd the population of the Board's district has increased from 40,343 to .51,473, while during the same period the rateable value of prqjjerty has lisen from £9,007,781 to £11,656,648. The local bodies’ levy last year was based on a rate of 2 1 Ad in The £1 annual value, and it is anticipated that with, the increased values the'rale .for the incoming year can be reduced. as well. as the actual amount to be levied On the local authorities, ’ 1 Beguiling Attention. “ Expenditure of a capital nature requiring the attention "-of the Board during the next few years tvlll.be:— ■ (1) Drainage, sanitation,' new. lavatories; and -water supply at the 'Southland Hospital. (2) Better provision for the treat-, ■ment of 'chronic and consumptive patients. • (3) Isolation ward, Gore Hospital,' (4) Xetv ward furniture, Southland . Hospital. . (5) Increased accommodation for nurses at Southland Hospital. , ■(G) Stables, covvbyres, and outbuildings at Borne Farm, and of those the first two require the Board's immediate attention. ■ Hospitals Conference. “In June last year a conference of Hospital and Charitable Aid Board representatives was held in Wellington, the Southland Board being represented by the secretary and myself. Delegates were present' from the diffrent parts of the Dominion and a largo number of remits from the different boards were dealt with and adopted, chiotly with reference to nccos'-ary amendments ro the Hospitals Act of 1909, and it is to be hoped the Department will see that the delegates' wishes in this matter will be brought under, the notice of our legislators. A large part of the time of tire conference was taken up in discussing methods for eradicating the disease of consumption, which lias such a strong hold on this country, and it is to be hoped Butt the, result will be that the different boards, assisted by the Government, will devote more of their energies to wiping out this scourge from our midst. Public Health. . '‘During my term of office the Board has taken over the working of the Public Health Act. so far as it relates to infectious diseases and sanitation, and has appointed an inspector to supervise this department. Under arrangement with the Wallace Hospital Board and the local authorities in the district, as well as the majority of iota! bodies in our own district, the sanitary Inspection of these borough and town boards is carried out by this Board's inspector, and so far the arrangement has worked ■ .satisfactorily and at small cost to Die different bodies concerned. Staff. "During Die past two years there have beep several changes in the Board's institutional staff. Dr A. Hendry, medical .officer of the Southland Hospital, retired in 1910, and was succeeded by Dr W. J. Barclay, of Thames. Dr dames Douglas, for r\rty years surgeon (.if the Wakatipu Hospital ml Frankton, retired in 1910, being succeeded by Dr Alex. Stewart, of Auckland. I regret to say that Dr Doughs* was nut permitted to enjoy very long hi--: well-earned retirement, having a few months after lie left the hospital died at Queenstown. Oilier changes during the. past year have been the resignations of ..Mr 11. D. Smith, for over ton years secretary and dispenser at the South lam] Hospital, and Miss Young, .matron of the Gore Hospital, from its establishment. They have been respectively succeeded by Mr G. G. Sinclair, of Port Chalmers, and, Sister Madeline Smaill, of Gore Hospital. As an indication of the extent of the Board's operations. I might mention Dial at present we have 82 regular employees, and wage- for the last year amounted to £3374 17s tod. Jn conclusion 1 would say Unit at all the institutions under Do- Board's control urn 'veil staffed. The staff have the work of l heir different departments well in hand, ad lake a keen interest in their economical and good running. The thanks of the Board are due to the i whole ot tlo'' staff lor the good work i that is being done." j ■-. I.i.i _ .