“LETTER SHOULD BE READ NOW.”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18576, 26 September 1928, Page 9

“LETTER SHOULD BE READ NOW.”

BUT BOARD MEMBERS THINK OTHERWISE. HOSPITAL COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS IT FIRST. r- Vtter from a ini? trentrnertt of her ch'lH in *he Christchurch Ho-pital, should have been read to a full meeting of the North Canterbury Hospital Board, was a contention made by Mrs E. R. M Combs at the meeting of the board day. After much discussion a motion endorsing the chairman's action in having referred the letter to the hospital committee was carried almost unanimously. Following a question by Mrs M’Combs, the chairman of the board (Mr H. J. Otley) said that he had referred to the hospital committee a letter from a Mrs Johnson, of Kingsley Street, regarding treatment of her child. The hospital committee had referred the matter to the honorary staff. After the matter had been investigated the hospital committee would report to the board, and the letter would then be read. Mrs M’Combs: I move that the letter from Mrs Johnson be read to the board now. I am moving this because no reference has been made to the letter, and because the board has not read its contents. I want to refer, Mr Chairman, to your method of dealing with the correspondence of this board. At the last meeting there were letters to the board to which I took exception, and you ruled that the letters, being the property of the board, must be read. During the week Mrs Johnson showed me a letter which she wanted to have read to the board, and she did not know how it should be addressed in order to ensure that it was read to the board. I told her that the proper thing to do was to address it to the chairman of the board. “The chairman of the board referred it to the hospital committee, and they referred it to the honorary staff,” stated Mr Otley. “The matter, after being investigated, will be reported back to the board, when the letter will be read. Letters like that always go first to the committee concerned.” Mr H. H. Holland said that patients going into hospital were subject to the by-laws of the hospital, and complaints must be made within fourteen days of the occurrence of the matter complained of. An Assurance. Mrs M’Combs: Will the letter be read eventually ? Can you, Mr Chairman, give me that assurance? “Certainly,’* replied the chairman. “The letter is here now, and you can have it read if the board wishes. It was read to-the committee.” Mrs M’Combs complained that the letter should have been read to the board, and not left to the chairman to deal with. Members often have complaints made to them about conditions at the hospital, but the chairman would take no notice of the complaints unless they were in writing, and signed. It often happened that those who complained ' did not go any further with the matter, as they did not want their names mentioned. In the present case the complaint had been signed, and yet it was not read to the board. The chairman: It was addressed to the chairman of the board, and I will take up the same attitude on future occasions. The letter can be read now, if you like, but there are about twenty pages of it. Mr Holland’s motion that the board approve of the action of the chairman -jf the board, and of the hospital committee, was carried.