MATRON EWART

Southland Times, Issue 19347, 12 September 1924, Page 6

MATRON EWART

PAYMENT OF A PENSION MINISTER’S CHANGED ATTITUDE Finality in the controversy which has been going on for some months past between the Southland Hospital Board and the Minister of Health, in regard to the payment of a pension to the retiring Matron of the Southland Hospital, Miss Ewart, has apparently at last been reached, as at the meeting of the Board yesterday afternoon the Department wrote stating that the Crown Law Officers had advised that the Minister had no statutory power to withhold the Board’s subsidy for the purpose of paying a life pension to Miss Ewart. Under these circumstances the Department said that the Minister had given his approval without prejudice to the Board making a payment of £2 per week for a term of feur years to its late Matron, and expressed the hope that at the end of that period it would review the question so that Miss Ewart might be granted a pension for the remaining years of her life. The Board, in receiving the communication, expressed the view that it was unfortunate that the Minister had not taken steps to give the same publicity to the Crown Law opinion as he had done in June last when he threatened to withhold the Board’s subsidy for the purpose of paying Miss Ewart a life pension.