HUNTLY HOSPITAL

Waikato Times, Volume 100, Issue 16781, 26 April 1926, Page 7

HUNTLY HOSPITAL

IMPOSING BUILDING. OFFICIAL OPENING. A BOON TO THE DISTRICT. Standing on an eminence, with a commanding view of a -wide and beautiful area, the new Huntly Hospital could Have been placed in no find' situation. For years this important industrial centre has demanded some place in the town to which to send the unfortunate people who from lime to time meet with accident in the place, for immediate medical treatment. Unfortunately the town lias had more than its share of casualties, and while the local Medical Association has done excellent work towards ensuring medical aid for the sick and injured, the town has never ceased to agitate for a cottage hospital where not only emergency cases might be taken, but where expectant mothers might .also bring their offspring into the world. Huntly has now had its long, long wish gratified, and there has risen on a commanding height looking out over the town, a beautiful and wellequipped ho'spital, which surprised all who inspected the building, with its completeness. This was opened on Saturday, in the presence of a very large gathering of people, by Hon. J. A. Young, Minister for Health. Mr J. B. Bailey, chairman of the

Waikato Hospital Board, in a brief address of welcome to the Minister, saitl T'thc initial difficulty in the establishment of the hospital, was to get a suitable site, but on being approached Mr \V. J- and Miss S. M. Ralph very generously presented the people of Huntly with the splendid area of four acres, without which it would have been difficult to have established the hospital. Mr R. L. Roberts, chairman of the Huntly Town Board, remarked that the town had striven a long time to Set a cottage hospital, but now that they had it, they felt proud of it. They did not, however, intend to remain satisfied with what had come to them. They wanted something even more, for he considered that the Huntly district warranted a hospital equal to any in New Zealanad (Applause.) Hon. J. A. Young was, he said, the first Minister to visit Huntly for a very long time, and for that reason, if for no other,- he was. heat-lily welcomed. The people of Huntly were exceedingly grateful for what they had received from the Hospital Board and Health Department, and it was now up to iiic people of th J , town to assist in beautifying the grounds as far as possible. (Applause.) A Fine Insitution.

Mr ,J. R. Fow (Mayor of Hamilton) said iic believed with the former speaker that the hospital was only Ihe beginning of better things. It was however already a very fine institution, and Huntly could be congratulated on the very fine location of the institution. The speaker referred to the activities of the Sunshine League at Hamilton, and counselled the people of Huntly to fOi-m a similar body and carry on along the same lines. The league In Hamilton did all it could to brighten the lives of the patients of the hospital by providing them with reading matter, taking them for motor drives, arranging concerts, and sup- : plying them with little luxuries that could not be given by the administration. The work of the league did much to brighten the lives of the suffering, and by providing in some.measure in cases of necessity for the dependents of those who might be in straitened circumstances. They also brought ease of mind to the patients themselves. The people of Huntly could not do better than form a Sunshine League of their own and carry on the excellent example set by life league at Hamilton. Mr Bailey hastened to assure His Worship that there was already at Huntly a very active Sunshine League, which.had provided till the linen for the hospital. (Applause.) Dr. G. M. Gower, the superintendent of 'the Waikato Hospital, said the Huntly Hospital had as matron one of the most efficient sisters of the Waikato Hospital in Miss Swayne. (Applause.) The speaker impressed on the audience that it was just as expensive to keep a hospital empty as full. He was not advocating that they should keep the institution full, of course (laughter), hut lie did hope that expectant mothers would, now that they had such a splendid institution available as a maternity home, bring their children into Ihe world in what were ideal surroundings, where they would receive every care and the most skilful attention. (Applause.) , Mr J. W. Warren, the architect, said there would be very little difficulty in enlarging the hospital, as it had been specially designed to permit of future development. It was customary, he said, on such occasions as that, "to present the person opening the building with a key, but on this occasion that custom would be departed from, and he had much picasure in asking Mr Young's acceptance of a gold-mounted fountain pen and gold-mounted Evcrsharp pencil, inscribed with his initials, in a plush case bearing a plate with an inscription relative to the occasion. This, the speaker thought, was a memento of some use and not a useless ornament. (Applause.) The minister's Spoech.

Hon. J. A. Young, who was greeted with applause, said that day's event marked an epoch in the history of Huntly, and he was glad to hear the chairman of the Town Board speak with the optimism which lie had. That hospital was an institution of which every Huntly resident might be proud. The speaker referred to the munificence of Mr W. J. and Miss S. Mlialnh. in donating not only the site for 11:c hospital but £<JO in money also. (Applause.) The speaker said that some hospital hoards had been accused of extravagance, but he could assure (hem that so far as his department was concerned, while there would he • no extravagance, yet they would not subvert efficiency to economy (applause) , although be intended, so far as lie could, to see that full value was got for money spent. While, however, they were aiming for efficiency, they were not losing sight of economy. Mr Young reminded his hearers that line buildings or bricks and mortar alone did not constitute a hospital, but rather the staff and the service which were available there. jn this connection lie was glad to know that in charge of the hospital they had a highly skilled practitioner in j>r. U. M- Cower, who was held in great esteem by the medical profession and by the public of Waikalo, while in Sister Swayne, as 'matron, they had a most capable and experienced nurse (applause). As well as the ■staff, the board of management must lot bo forgotten. The organisation ud administration of a hospital was :i:,e the operating of some great .unl'hjne. with wheels here and cogs tUerc, ail working in unison for the

common good. After all. added the Minister, the great purpose of life should be to work for the bncfit of the community. (Applause.) Tho speaker congratulated the builder, Mr W. J. Claguc, of Hamilton, on the ex- i ccilcnt job he had turned out, and also the architect, Mr J. W. Warren, whose master mind it was which had | been responsible for the design and supervision of the work. In thanking* Mr Warren for the very useful mo-.n-cnto of that occasion, Mr Young said that since he had taken office as Mininister in Charge of Hospitals, he had aD'eadv accumulated a number of keys, but for utility ho had received no" better memento of such an occasion than the fountain pen and pencil presented to him that day. It would, he said, sec service in his office daily, and doubtless be used to sign many official documents, and thus serve to remind him constantly of the important occasion and of the people ofllunlly. (Applause.) Department's Policy. Mr Young mentioned the fact that the Hospital Board intended to use that building purely as a maternity hospital, except in cases of emcrgrncv, accidents and sickness. He was glad, he said, to know that the people of the town were displaying a keon interest in the institution, and he road out a letter just handed to him from the Railway Picnic Committee of Huntly, in which they asked the Hospital Board to accept with their compliments, a gramophone for use in the hospital. (Applause.) Touching upon the distribution of hospitals, the Minister said it was the modern practice, in fact it was the policy favoured by the Government, that Boards should have large base hospitals in the chief centres, with maternity homes located in the outer town and country areas within the hospital districts. It was impractical and indeed impossible to instal elaborate equipment in the smaller hospitals, but in the base hospitals they could do so, and therefore it was far belter policy to maintain the latter at a high standard and to send patients there, where they could receive highly skilled treatment, with the most modern scientific equipment, than to he treated at subsidiary hospitals where there was little or no equipment. The Huntly Hospital building had cost £12,500, of which sum the Government had provided in all £0322. Of the balance £sioß had been found by the local bodies in the hospital area and £720 by voluntary subscription.

Mr Young then went on to outline the Department's policy in regard to the administration of hospitals. The Government recognised its responsibility in hospital administration, and from time to time sent responsible officers of the Department to study the methods of other countries. Dr. T. 11. A. Valintinc, the DirectorGeneral iof Health, visited Europe in 1925, and went over the hospitals of France and Switzerland. The best maternity hospital he had seen (providing for 100 maternity beds and i)0 beds for women's diseases) was at Zurich. He was disappointed with other hospitals, especially those of France—they did not come up to the British standard. Indeed, continued the Minister, we still have to look to Great Britain for examples of efficiency in building, administration and service. It was pleasing to note that Britain stood alone so far as hospitals for the treatment of tuberculosis were concerned. We in New Zealand followed her lead. .Indeed, we had, in proportion to the, population, more beds in our hospitals and sanatoria for the treatment of consumption than any oilier country in the world. This did not mean that nvc had more tuberculosis; as w r o had the lowest death-rate per 10,000 of population. It was tho aim of tho Prime Minister and his Government to keep in toucli with the best methods in the world. Dr M. 11. Watt, the Assistant Dircclor-Gcrteral of Health, had been sent abroad, visiting the United Stales, Japan, and Korea. lie was now in Canada, and writing recently from San Francisco to Dr. Valintinc, had staled:—"Briefly, however, I ain convinced of the great merits'of your hospital system, and realise that the people of New Zealand are under tremendous advantages in this respect, as compared with the peoples in the United States, where hospital and medical fees are appalling."

The function of hospitals was not only to cure disease but to prevent it. Ho wanted to drive it home that while Ihe institution was most important, it was still more important that we should have good health, and thus lessen the necessity of having to enter a hospital. The mental altitude of the community towards the doctors would have to change. Instead of wailing until we became sick we should make it a practice from time to time to visit the medical praciioncr, at least once or twice a year, especially those people who" had come to the middle period of life, and have an examination. It was well-known that many diseases if discovered in their incipient stages, responded to some simple treatment, and prevented worse consequences. Speaking of preventive medicines, lie said the health of boys and girls was a real asset to the community and should be encouraged. Sunshine and fresh air were the best physicians. As a boy he had been taught a few simple rules for good health —fresh air, food and drink, warmth, cleanliness, light exercises and rest. If these rules were followed the people would be more healthy and there would not bo a great deal of curalivo medical work for the doctors to do.

The Department recognised how important it was to provide the best of training for nurses, and during last year sent abroad Nurse Moore and Nurse Lambic, who would travel around New Zealand as tutor nurses. It was interesting Lo note that Miss Moore was a former matron of the Waikato Hospital. The best Immigrant.

Referring lo the beds provided for maternity cases, the Minister said that it was beyond the ability of tho average working man lo provide his wife with proper service; and the Government recognised this. He remarked that the best immigrant was the little immigrant who comes into tho borne. Mothers should be offered every facility, and hospital boards should develop tho maternity side of ils service.

in bis concluding remarks the Minister said New Zealand could pride itself on the service which the hospitals give. Hospitals, iie stressed, were not charitable homes but public humanitarian institutions, lie appealed lo Hie people to interest themselves in their governing institutions. Helpful, not fault-liriding, criticism was needed, and if all worked together for 1.110 common aim the highest degree of efficiency would be achieved. (Applause.) The Minister then declared the new building open, declaring as he did so, "I now dedicate this building lo tho great humanitarian cause for which it is erected, and trust that its doors will always be open lo those whom it was meant to serve."

The members of the Huntly Sunshine League then provided refreshments for (he visitors, and the doo •■» or the new hospital were thrown open'for'a general inspee\iou by the puhlir-