PLUNKET SOCIETY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3012, 24 February 1917, Page 10

PLUNKET SOCIETY

A TALK WITH MINISTERS

HON. G. W. RUSSELL'S VIEWS

A PROMISE NOT TO INTERFERE

The relations: qI the Public Health Department with the Plunket Society were explained and misunderstandings removed in the course of a deputation from the conference of the society to members nf the Ministry yesterday. The Minfstcrs present were: ; Sir James AlleJi, the Hon. G. W. Russell, tho Hon. 431. Myers, and the Hon. W. D. S. MacDjanald. Mr. J. A. Yytimi, M.P., was the only speaker on belinTv of the deputation. He first offerefl congratulations to Sir James Allen on behalf of tho society. The conference had asked him, ho said, to convey to the Hon. G. W. Russell, the society's deep appreciation of tho sympathv_ar;d help he had given tho socioty from time to time. A Disquiet. The work qL_tho".society had prospered in New Zealand, and its famo had extended to other countries. The society had been Jjui.lt. up entirely by voluntary effort, but a letter had been received at the conference from the Minister of Public Health which had caused a feeling of disquiet lest the Government should in some way alter the constitution of the society. There was a fear that the Government might nationalise the society and deprive it of its present voluntary character. Tho conference would like to have the mind of the Minister on that point. The Minister was asked also to make som<* clear statement as to the manner in which subsidies should be paid in future, for it appeared that Mr. Russell proposed that in future the basis of payment should be altered—that if funds raised by voluntary effort wero more than wee*, needed, there should be a corresponding reduction in the subsidy to bo paid by tho Government. They would lileo to havo an assurance that for this year there would be no alteration in tlje subsidv plan, He concluded by saying: that tho iwork of the society was of great vajue to the community, and that it would he disastrous if the Goi'efnment in any way jeopardised this very useful voluntary work. Value of Voluntary Effort. . Sir James Allen thanked the conference for its kindness in congratulating him on the honour that Hii Majesty hsd seen fit to confer upon him. He bop«d that it would be considered not so much an honour to himself as an ItODOor to the country in which he had lived and for which he had, "lie hoped, dono some good work. He wished SrEfc to assure the society that the Government appreciated the voluntary .Eslf-sacrifieing work vbioh it had been 'doinc fie-waAJifhfJcr.ly sure that the only desiro of the Minister of Public Eofi'th was to further the society's work. (Hear, hear.) He was also sure that Mr. Russell had no desire to interfore with the society's voluntary effort, which, ho believed, not. only did good for the race, hut had benefited tho workers themselves. Nothing would bo done to diminish the assistance'given bv the Government by way of subsidies. "Wrong Impressions." The Hon. G. W. Russell soid it appeared to him that, thorn wore unfortunate misunderstandings which mightgive rise to wrong impreseions as to the relations of the Government to tfc.i> Plunket Socioty. Be most heartily endorsed all that Sir James Allen had - said as to the good Ihat had been dor.o by the society, and hs ekissed that ha had duriug liis two period, of office as Minister of Public Heslth done more than a little to assist in that work. Nothing more could have been done by him. ' He had never done anything inimical to the interests of tho society. Last year ho had suggested certain proposals for tho better organisation of the socioty. with tho object of enabling it to spread its activities more widely. His proposals wore that tho branchos should wnstituto units, tlia? there should ho provincial unions of societies, and that these provincial unions should elect the central executive. He made those suggestions because ho believed that there wero parts of the country in which it was felt that tho direction of all the society's affairs by .the central executive in Dunedin was not the best possible plan, and that under' this scheme some districts were apt to consider that they were being overlooked. He had never had any idea of nationalising the society—no idea that tile Government should take it over nr interfere with it in any way. (Hear, hear.) About Subsidies. He confessed that ho was in a difficulty about extending the work of caring for babies. Ho had been impressed ever since the war with the importance nf saving infant life, and he conceived that he had e duty this regard as Minister. Either ho must leave this work wholly to the society, or he must use some other means of iproviding for those . districts in which the society did not operate. Was he to bold back his Department from doing this useful work because of some fear oF interfering with the societv? With all respect to ,th" conference, he must point out that it was his duty to see 1 that nn places wero left without the aid of skilled nurses, to do the samo work as was now done so well hv Plunket nurses in the places where they wero -operating:. The infant death rate in the cities was hiVher than the average throughout New Zealand, and this problem of reducing the hich death rate in cities was the first that must be tackled. If the society was able to provide only three nurses in Wellington and three in Auckland, some other means would have to be found to increase the number of nurses who were prepared to undertake the work. The .-lack of funds in the society could not bo accepted n* a sufficient reason for not extending the work. Regarding subsidies. h« 'pointed (<»t that several branches had considerable sums of cash in hand. The Ministcof Financo would toll them that it was the invariable rule of the Government that subsidies were given where they were most needed. It was not the custom tri grant subsidies to people who had funds ivailnblc. He was prepared to sn.y r.ln>t the amount «f total subsidv might be increased.. but it must be a condition that the money shpuld go in larger proportion to the branches which were without funds. No Government, could give subsidies to assist in building up reserve funds. The Government must insist that ?ul>sidies given for a specific purpose shall he immediately available for that purpose. For the present year the su''sidies would, however, be paid as usual, but the matter of the payment, of ftltnvß suhsirlics would have to bo carefully considered. '■ Dr. Truhv King Explains. •Dr.-Truby King made a statement to show that there was not the clamant need for more nurses that the Minister supposed. Nurses had been -nut-in ono or two districts, and had ■l)e*>n withdrawn because th»y were not fully employed. He stated, also, that all the nurses required could h« trained at'the Karitano Hospital in Dunedin, He claimed that in every single instance the whole of the. Governreciit

subsidy had been used for the payment of nurses' salaries. Tho Government gavo a subsidy of £100 per nurse, but in no sittglo instance was tho annual cost of a nurso less than £183, .and more often it was £200. Ho also pointed out that ovory branch was independent; and was not subject to dominance from Dunedin.