STRATFORD AMBULANCE APPEAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 20 December 1933, Page 4

STRATFORD AMBULANCE APPEAL.

The residents of Stratford and Central Taranaki are to be congratulated upon the success of the appeal for . funds to provide an ambulance for use in connection with the local - hospital. The value of an ambulance to a hospital that serves a fairly extensive district, including some of the hinterlands of the province, has been admitted for many years. The difficulty of providing one has been that of finance. The nucleus of the fund so splendidly supported by the public in the Stratford hospital district was, fittingly enough, a legacy the hospital received from the late Mr. C. Sanders, a pioneer of Central Taranaki who had known some of the hardships and sufferings of those who through accident or disease required prompt removal to a hospital. There could scarcely be a better application of a gift from a pioneer than the provision of a service which will remove some of the dangers of isolation which still exist for the settlers in the hinterlands. The manner in which the ambulance appeal was supported in the country districts is proof of the desire for such a service to be established, and the prompt success of the appeal at a time when values for dairy exports are not very cheering is a tribute to the public spirit of the district. Swift and comfortable transport to a hospital may make considerable difference to the chances of a patient’s thorough and prompt recovery, so that from the mere economic standpoint the provision of an ambulance service could be justified, for the sooner a patient is able to resume his normal occupation the smaller is the loss occasioned to the community by his withdrawal from the ranks of the workers. It is, however, as a humanitarian and public-spirited effort that the success of the appeal will be most appreciated.