"ST. HELEN'S."

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1481, 2 July 1912, Page 3

"ST. HELEN'S."

THE OFFICIAL OPENING. Tho new St. Helen's Maternity Hospital in Coromandel Street, Newlown, was officially opened yesterday afternoon, by Mrs. 1(. ,1. Scddon, in tho presence, of ab.iut 500 people, a very large percentage of whom were babies. The Hon. G. W. Kussell, Minister for Hospitals and Public Health, said he had much pleasure in asking Mrs. Seddon, widow, of the founder of the institution, to perform the opening ceremony. * Mrs. Seddon stated that hor pleasure in assisting at the ceremony was enhanced by the fact that tho scheme oi maternity homes was first initiated by her husband.- It was one of the fir*;, duties of the State to caro for the health of t,ie people, and she was pleased to see that it was intended to extend the scope of the scheme. She earnestly hoped that, the St. Helen's Hospitals would continue to be, as they had been in the pas. , ;, a b;<oii lo tho women of New Zealand. She accorded a meed of praise to Br. Valintine, Miss Maclean and Mrs. Grace Neill, for their work in organising and carrying out the scheme iu Wellington. She had mucii pleasure in formally declaring the hospital open. The Hon. G. W. Russell followed. Ho said that he esteemed it a very great privilege to take some small part in tho opening of a great institution. It was meet and proper that it should be opene.l by Mrs.Smldqn, because it was to the broad humanitarian spirit thai animatedher late husband that these hospitals owed their, origin. There were now four maternity hospitals iu New Zealand con,trolled directly bv the Government, which had no less than 78 beds, two controlled by hospital boards had 25 beds, and two other private hospitals were subsidised by the Government. The average cost of maintaining beds in maternity homes was .£101) 7s. per yc-ar, or only .E!0 more than the average cost of beds in tho ordinary general hospitals. The cost to the Dominion per baby born in thu St. Helen's Hospitals was only .£1 17s. lid. Not only were mothers and babies eared for in the hospitals, but in the institutions a body of nurses were being trained for maternity work, and after being thoroughly instructed they left tho hospitals, and thoir skilled services wero available to dwellers in the back-bloeks. The new building,, with the land and furniture, had cost in all .EM.MO. Sinco tho present Government had taken office they had decided to open the hospitals to the wives of workers earning not moro than £i per week, the limit, previously having been per week. Afc the Wellington Hospital since its establishment in Juno of 11)05, 1100 children had been born, and 47-t cases outside the hospital had been attended by Iho nurses. Tho total number of children born in St. Helen's Hospitals in New Zealand was 4608, and 1771 cases had been attended outside. In all those cases there had been only 22 deaths, which he thought; n very line record, since the average deathrate, in maternity cases in New Zealand was f>l per cent. He thanked Mrs. Seddon I'nr having performed Hie office, and on_ behalf of tho Government ho presented her with a souvenir of tho occasion.

Thu souvenir consisted of two silver candlesticks suitably inscribed. Jlr. T. 10. Y. Scttdon, M.P., responded on his mother's behalf. He assured tho audience that all the Seddon family wero intensely proml of the success of the St. Helen's Hospitals, for by their establishment one of his father's greatest aims had been achieved.. The Hon. T. Mackenzie, Prime Minister, said it was a matter of great gratification to him lo sec the hospital opened by ono who represented .the Keiilleman to wheso singleness of purpose the establishment of the hospitals was due. He announced (hat the Government proposed to open four more new homes in Hip. lesser centres of population. In conclusion he called for three cheers for Mrs. Seddou, and three more for Lady Ward, who was -also present. CniEOPODT. Mr?. Haybittle, No. 2f,9 Lambton Qua} (over Orr, Chemist), after many years , experience, undertakes to. euro Corns, Ingrowing Nails, Bunions, etc. llelicf from theso distressing complaints is uunraulend immediately. 'Phono 159J.--Advk