Hospital Board Affairs

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 36, 9 April 1948, Page 5

Hospital Board Affairs

Support Sought For Special Petrol Rations On the motion of the chairman, Mr J. Mullins, supported by Mr L. Buddie, the Bay of Plenty Hospital Board decided, at yesterday’s meeting, to seek support from the Department of Health in an endeavour to get an assurance from the Oil Fuel authorities that the local deputy controller be given discretionary powers in dealing with applications for petrol for urgent hospital business. The resolution was an echo of the recently-reported failure of the Whakatane delegation to attend a Sanatorium Committee Conference at Hamilton because the petrol was not made available. Mr Buddie said he felt that, in view of the fact that another matter of the same sort might crop up, representations should be made to the Fuel Controller and to the Department of Health, to see if the Board could get' an assurance that the facilities would be available in future for deputations to get to important meetings.

Further to that the chairman pointed out that he had sought no special allocation for his own work in connection with the hospital. He was using his personal ration. He added that he had not dreamed the application under discussion would be refused.

Power Difficulties In receipt of a letter from the Air Department which advised it was unable to sell the diesel generating plant at preserft on loan, the Board decided to investigate possible alternatives during the period of cuts. Negotiations are to be started immediately with the Borough Council, with a view to having a continuous power supply arranged for the institution.

The Air Department’s letter also indicated that all the Department’s plants would soon be need for use in the R.N.Z.A.F. and, in view of that, the Board viewed the matter of arranging an alternative as urgent. More Nurses Wanted In reply to a letter from the Hospital Boards Association asking for its views concerning the continuing of the national advertising campaign to' popularise nursing as a profession, the Board decided to support the continuance of the campaign, also to ask the Association for information concerning the new salary scale for nurses. Monthly Statistics

The medical, superintendent, Dr. E. T. Dawson, reported that, during March, there were 132 patients admitted and 129 discharged. There 'were five deaths and 34 births. Twelve major and 47 minor operations were performed, and the daily average of patients was 75.680.