WANTED £7,000!

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1259, 14 October 1911, Page 6

WANTED £7,000!

HOSPITAL SATURDAY. TO-DAY'S APPEAL TO THE PUBLIC. Wanted, ,£7ooo—perhaps .£8000! That is {he need. The appeal for tho money has gono forth, and to-day tho main campaign begins. Beforo the hour at which tho populaco woods its way,to work one hundred women will have quietly fallen into their allotted places at strategic, points about tho city—their weapons, a money-box, a smile, and a good cansj; their armour, placid confidence in victory. ;ESQO they expect to get. And who is to pay? Tho Wellington public, which never turns its back on a good cause. To-day is Hospital Saturday, and all day long the clmk of tho coin will be heard wherever a Bed Cross box may bo located. Alreidy some money has been subscribed. Boxes deposited in hotels already boast of a healthy rattle, and in responso to an appeal by the secretsT of tho Hospital Board for assistarxo the Wellington Licensed Victuallers' Association has donated twenty guineas. Hospital Saturday and Sunday .ippenls at times are made in a general way—just an appeal for tho public hospital. Tho present appeal for money is for a definite object. The hospital authorities cousiccr' that great public benefit can bo conferred by the establishment of an out-patients' department. The present block is said to I be far too small for the purpose it was inI tonded to fulfil, and the patients are suffering through lack of room and equipment. Tho present out-patients' building is to bo converted to good use. It is also proposed to build and equip a ward block tor in-patients suffering J» cm diseases of the eye. ear, and throat. These patients are at present distributed throughout tho wards of the hospital, and that is detrimental to all concerned. To do all this, about .£7OOO or .£BOOO is needed, which means over .£3OOO from the peoplo of tho district. "Tho hospital exists primarily for that portion of the community that cannot afford to secure the skill and care which their needs demand in their own homes, or in a private hospital," says Mr. W. A. Evans, the chairman of tho Wellington Hospital Board. "That there is a large number included in this class is evident fro mthe fact that last year 311G cases were treated in tho hospital, and of this number 1500 operated on. But in addition to the in-patients, 17,000 were treated in tho out-patients' department. In the course of treating this large number of patients, the fact had been established beyond doubt that a large percentage of these cases aro duo to conditions that may be completely eliminated. In the face of this fact tlie board has decided upon immediately establishing and equipping such departments as will enable tho superintendent and his staff to deal more effectively with the causes t l uf '• m A thus raiso t-ho standard ot health in the community." ' So all day to-day, and at'certain times to-morrow, wi ling, volunteers will gratenuly accept the contributions of those who wish to experience the luxury of do™,f 11 ii, fT s i lline. e , of n,an r is shut out by the cloud of sickness. It is for them tho appeal is made.