HOSPITAL COMMISSION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16413, 29 April 1921, Page 5

HOSPITAL COMMISSION.

DUNEDIN SITTING. [P*r Press Assocjatsov 1 DUNEDIN, April 23. The Hospitals Commission continued its sittings this morning. Mr Malcolm, M-P-, considered that the law should be amended making hospital boards local bodies, so that they might be able to borrow money under the Loans to Local Bodies Act. As to the question of the extent to which the Government should contribute towards the net maintenance and requirements of hospital boards, Air Alalcolm said that he was in favour of a. pound for pound flat rate for maintenance, r.s well as for capital requirements. Even if the cities had to pay more, proportionately, they always had the advantage of greater facilities. He agreed that such a scheme of subsidy should take into account the relative positions of poor and rich districts, so long as good management was nob penalised. He admitted, however, that it would be extremely difficult to pick out which beards were particularly well managed. As to the system of representation c f boards, Mr Malcolm pointed out that at present there was always danger of populous parts of the country swamping the rest of the district. If members wore nominated by local bodies it could be secured that every part of a county would be adequately represented. He considered that from the Government’s point of view Government representation would be a mistake. In reply to Air Trigss, who suggested the necessity for some svstem by which all the more difficult cases should be sent into the larger hospitals, where they would have the benefit of a whole staff and modern methods of diagnosis, Air Alalcolm Raid be would be quite willing to leave the decision in such cases to the local superintendent, who knew the historv of the case. ATr Malcolm did not agree with Air Shirtcliff e’s suggestion that the board should contribute to a base hospital irrespective of the number of cases which it might happen to send in for treatment in any particular year. He urgrfl that cases of delirium tremens should not lie a burden on the boards, but on tbs Government, which acquired revenue from the liquor trade. The provision of a scheme of superannuation for nurses was si matter which the chairman said was beyond the scope of the Com miss ion. Professor Gertrude Helen Rawson, Principal of the Home Science School, addressed the Commission on the advantage of having an expert dietician connected with the hospitals of the Dominion. During her visit to Canada and the Eastern States of America, she bad exhaustively studied this matter, and had found that in the, large hospitals there were from two to five dieticians. These women were of -two classes, the true dietician and the instiitutional hotrsekeepar. The duties of these two persons were covered, in the case of the former, in the training of nurses in cooking, preparation of invalids’ diet and general supervision, including serving and transport of the food ; and. in the of the latter, in the purchase of food supply, supervising the larder and the overseeing of the preparation of natier.ts’ meals. Tri every case which she had investigated the hospital authorities stated that the appointment of these skilled supervisors had effected great economies and benefited the commercial department generally. r Jho Rev A'. G. T. B. King, chairman of the local branch of the St John Ambulance Association, waited on the Commission to advocate the extension of the principle of district nursing, wliicli_ bad been undertaken so successfully in Dunedin for a number of years In reply to a ouestion by Air Tri.ggs, as to the method of assistance. Mr King said bo desired it to bo in the form of a subsidy. Tn Ashburton, i Geraldine and other places a subsidy of 24s in the £1 was paid, and they would be very pleased to receive a similar amount. This concluded the sitting of the Commission in Dunedin.