INFECTIOUS DISEASES.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 213, 14 September 1901, Page 3

INFECTIOUS DISEASES.

HOSPITAL TRUSTEES REFUSE TO HAVE WARD ON HOSPITAL GROUNDS.

A special meeting of the Gisborne Hospital Trustees was held yesterday afternoon, at the office of the Secretary, Mr T. A. Coleman, to consider a request from the Bcrough Council for permission to erect a ward on the Hospital grounds for the purpose of dealing with infectious diseases. There were present: Messrs Nolan (Chairman), Macfarlane, Warren, Joyce, Kennedy, and Harding. The Chairman explained the object of the meeting, and Dr Craig (who was in attendance) was asked his opinion on tiie subject.

Dr Craig said that under certain restrictions a ward such as that suggested I might be erected in the Hospital grounds, I but it would be out of the question to undertake infectious eases with the present staff’. The Chairman: We are not asked to undertake them. Dr Craig : Practically you are. Mr Macfarlane : They would be coming on our ground. Mr Kennedy : It would be foisted on us.

I Dr Craig : My suggestion would be that a place bo put up of limited dimensions, suited to take only a limited number of cases, such as it might be the duty of tiie town to take care of—not for cases that might arise in the town among people I who had homes of tbc-ir own where every

j attention cotiid be given, but for people | without homes in which the3’ could be nursed, such for instance as the case of a person taking ill in an hotel, or coming from the bush. I think it would be a reasonable thing to have some place where it would bo possible to give proper attention to such cases, but it is not my duty to

suggest that the hospital grounds shouli be the place to which such cases should be taken, or who should build tiie ward. The Chairman : I think we are agreed on that. Mr Macfarlane : You mean that it should be apart from the hospital staff’ '! Dr Craig : Yes. Mr Maclarlane : They could not possibly have our nurses to attend to any eases there. Wo cannot do that, as we only keep sufficient nurses to do the work at present requiriifg to be done. Mr Kennedy: We should have to isolate any nurses who went there. Mr Macfarlane: Yes, and quarantine them afterwards. The Chairman : I take it that this ward would bo separate from the Hospital altogether. 1 would strenuously object to the j nurses having anything to do with it. I Mr Joyce said it seemed to him that this application from the Council was simply to erect a building on the ground, and would not in any way be a matter of inconvenience to the Hospital Trustees. All that was asked was for it piece of ground on which to build a small place such as the doctor had described or re ferred to, for persons having no moans, or home, or habitation—people coming from the bush or from thickly-populated buildings such as hotels. Special nurses could be obtained at the time there were cases in. There was plenty of room on the grounds, and he did not think there would bo any inconvoniencc in that respect. A small habitation of the kind described could easily be erected there, and that would be convenient for the doctor in attending to such eases. It had been suggested that the building should be erected on the AVaikatiae, but that would be a very inconvenient place for the doctor to have to go to —it would mean half a day’s jaunt for the doctor. Ho had no doubt that if any case had to bo attended to the Borough Council would supply the nurse to look after the patient-. Mr Warren said that the request that had been made just proved the shortsightedness of the men who had had that ward removed. The ward had cost L'6oo to build, sixteen years ago. Ho had said at tiie time that he considered its removal was a backward movement. As far as the ward proposed was concerned the nearer they bad it to the Hospital grounds the better, both for appliances, medicines, and medical officer. He would be prepared to support the request of the Borough Council. lie did not think it involved the Hospital Trustees in any expenditure at present. It would no doubt do so afterwards.

The Chairman : That is the part I object to, which I think wo should not undertake. Mr Macfarlauo : We should keep entirely clear of it. Continuing, he said he had heard a good deal about this ward being removed. It bad been done before ho was here, but it seemed to him from what lie had heard that the wisest thing had been done. When the ward had boon erected it was thought that typhoid fever was a contagious disease, but that after-

wards being found not to be so. the ward was of no use for the purpose for which it had been specially erected, and if it had not been removed and made use of it would for the sixteen years have been lying useless in the paddock. It seemed to him that the Trustees had done the proper thing, though he did not know the full particulars of the affair.

The Chairman: I do: that ward was j I put there at the time typhoid was sup- j ’ posed to be contagious. Ido not think it j \va- ever used for the purpose for which | it was erected : at any rate it remained j there for years unused, and then it was joined to the main Hospital building and used as a nurses’ ward. If that had not been done the building would have still I remained there unused, and it would have been necessary to have had a new building erected as a nurses’ ward. If we 1 allow them to build a ward for contagious diseases it means that wo will have to take charge of it. The Health Depart- j incut have medical officers of their own. j No nurses would bo provided, and tne j supervision of the building would be • thrown entirely on the Hospital, which 1 ; think objectionable. I agree with Mr i Joyce that a ward of the kind should be erected, but I think that it ought to be a ! separate place, away altogether from the j Hospital. It is not likely to bo used for i some time, and wlnit is to become of it in the meantime ? What 1 think the best thing to be done is to have a house built, and let someone have it rent free, on the understanding that they were to give up the place for such a case when the necessity arose. So far there has been only one case which it would have been necessary to have taken in. Mr Warren said that to take a sick man to a place where people had been living was not proper. It would be better to | have a place erected at once. ' The Chairman : That will be for the J Council to look after. Mr Macfarlano : As Hospital Trustees wc must put our foot down on any proposal to bring the hospital into it. The Chairman : It would mean increasing the hospital stall very considerably. Mr Warren : I look at it that the hos- j pital is supported out of public funds, for the use of people who have no homes or | place to go to ; there should be no diseriini- ' j nation. Sickness in the place lias to be j ! dealt with, and the hospital authorities are [ j the proper ones to deal with it. j The Chairman : That is just the point Mr Joyce said lie took it that at present the only question before them was whether it was convenient to allow the building to bo erected in the hospital grounds. As he had already stated, there was plenty of ground available, and it would be very handy to have the building where the doctor could conveniently call in and attend to any case. If people came in, such ns the case thrown on Mr Townley’s bands, it would seem almost inhuman not to have some place where they could be put. in that case a young woman without homo or friends was taken with the scarlatina, and was driven to the Mayor's door. What could the Mayor do What could any gentleman placed in the same position do but try and find a place where the patient could be taken in and cared for ? There should be some place for such a case. The Chairman : Wc are all agreed upon that, Mr Joyce : The whole thing at present is where is the most convenient place to build this house It would not in any way interfere with the hospital trustees if it were built on the hospital grounds, I should certainly be in favor of the Borough Council's request beiiig granted. The Chairman : There is no objection to the building being put there ; wo are all with Mr Joyce in that. But the outcome would be that the whole management would be thrown on to the hospital trustees. The nursing of the patients would bo put on to the hospital stall. There would be no provision made for it. You cannot have nurses running in and out of an infectious ward to the hospital ; if one goes to the infectious ward she must stay there. It is not a refusal to take in sick people that we arc considering. It is only scarlatina now, but supposing it were a ease of small-pox, it would not be nice to have that so close to the hospital. Mr Joyce: I do not think that the question of nursing is before us now. The only question is whether we will give permission to build a home or temporary hospital for infectious eases on the Hospital grounds. The question of nursing has not arisen yet. Mr Maelarlanc : Wc arc told by one of [lie Trustees that it should be taken up by the Hospital. The Chairman : What Mr Joyce says is quite true, but 1 am only pointing out what it will lead to. Mr Warren: It will certainly lead to that. The Chairman : They will shift somo patient up there, without any preparation. Mr Macfarlano : They will bo landed there the same as they wore in the cab. Mr Kennedy: I think His Worship ought to have sent that cab back. Mr Macfarlanc : The cab should have been disinfected. It would not be a nice place to get into afterwards. The Chairman : The objection I have is that wc will be expected to take charge of these cases. Mr Macfarlano: We have a Health Department. Mr Joyce: To set the thing at rest, 1 will propose that the request of the Borough Council bo acceded to. Mr Warren seconded the motion. If the building were erected it should not bo on the same side as the Chinaman’s garden. The Chairman said that the best place would bo on the upper side. Mr Harding said bo agreed that the Hospital Trustees should not have to look after the building or take any part in the management of it. If he thought that the matter was going to bo thrown on the Hospital Trustees, and that the Hospital staff would have to do the nursing, he would vote against having the building there at all. The ground could be spared for the building, but if the Hospital was to be saddled with the nursing it would mean an extra stuff, and he did not see how the Hospital could pay for that. They could not have a nurse running between the two buildings. A patient had been sent to Mr Townlcy, as Mayor, to make provision for, but the Hospital Trustees would be considered more responsible than anyone else. Mr -Joyce : This question is not before us yet. That will come later on. 1 do not know why wo should have this pandering to nurses. All this is theoretical. It is time enough to meet objections when we have to meet I them. This docs not interfere with the j application made by the Borough Conn- ! oil, which is only for permission to ercc! the building on the Hospital grounds. | The question of nurses and attendance j will crop up by bye. Mr Kennedy said he sympathised with ; the proposal that a ward should bo erected for cases such as those mentioned, and if j the Council had no vacant section lie would support the application, but the Council had ample property of their own on which they could erect an isolated ward. By asking the Hospital Trustees to give the ground was inserting the thin end of the wedge to throw the responsibility on them. It was not only a nurse that would be required. There would be furniture, and a housekeeper would be needed as well as a nurse. The policy of the Trustees had always been to avoid admitting contagious cases into the institution. This was a matter for the Public Health Board. If they were short of land, he would support the proposal, but he knew that it would be throwing the whole responsibility on the Hospital staff, and he did not think that it came within their province. It would be better to have an isolated ward somewhere else. The Chairman said that if they allowed the ward to bo erected on the Hospital grounds, the ultimate result would be that the Hospital would liav e to take charge of it. What Mr Joyce said as to the doctor bore that out. The Hospital Doctor had nothing to do with infectious cases. The Council had plenty of ground on which to erect a ward. The motion was put and lost, Messrs Joyce and Warren supporting it, and the other Trustees voting in the negative. Mr Kennedy said he would be for the motion were it not for the responsibility being thrown on the Hospital Trustees. Mr Macfarlanc : It would mean getting ia the thin edge of the wedge,