NAPIER HOSPITAL COMMISSION'S REPORT.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 157, 21 July 1937, Page 4

NAPIER HOSPITAL COMMISSION'S REPORT.

We are enabled to publish to-day thfe report presenied to Hls Excellency tlie Goveriior-General by the Royal Commlssioii wbicb held prolonged sittings at Napier last month to enquire into the conduct aiid affairs of the Napier Hospital. Il will doubtless be fead with deep intefest by the l'esidents of Napier alld Hastings aiid tlie neighbouring distrlets served by the Napier Hospital and the Soldiers5 Memorial Hospital at Hastings, although the latter is brought into it in only an incidental way, As to the' conclusions reached regarding specific cases investigated and as to those of a purely personal character there is no great need for comment. They may well be left to the individual judgment of readers, which may or may not be unanimous about them. Their chief importance at the moment is that out of them arose the enquiry as to the general management and conduct of the Napier Hospital. Concerning these it will be seen that the Commission was far from being satisfied, has, indeed, some rather severe strictures to pass. At the same time, however, it is to be gathered that the matters thus calling for disapproval by the Commission are not of recent development, but are rather the outcome of methods and practice that have been in vogue over a fairly lengthy period. Beyond this, it is to be inferred that the Commission itself recognises that since the great earthquake which destroyed most of the hospital buildings, and that even since their partial restoration, exceptional difficulties have had to be faced. In fact, it is clearly indicated that really effective and efficient organisation Was impracticable with the limited accommodation that has as yet been made available. There are, however, features with respect to the internal organisation of the hospital that evidently call for serious eonsideration and for remedy. This may in particular be said with regard to the nursing staff, though even here there may be read into the report an inferential "admission that exceptional difficulties had to be overcome- — some of them, again, arising out oi laek of adequate accommodation and alSo df equipment. There would thus seem to be no very convincing reason for thinking other than that, with these deficiencies made good and with the guidance of the intimations the Commission has given, efficient reorganisation could be catried out and ah acceptable system established under board control though the provision of all the buildings necessary preSents some problems. The Commission emphasises its disapproval of the divided control in which they see three heads operating — the Medical Supefintendent, the Matron and the MaUaging Secretary. With this ohjection there will probably be some general disposition to agree, although the plan may. have been originally adopted to meet circumstances and COnditions of which iio mentioil is made in the report and it is dbvious that sole supervision such as the Commission SUggests "will necessarily mean an argus-eyed, supervisor. The Commission also sees something incongrtlous in a member of the honorary medical staff occupying a seat on the boaxd. That, however, has been thrown into relief only by the peculiar and altogether exceptional developments of recent monjths, and most folk will have in clear mind the invaluable work which members of the medical prof ession have done and are still doing, not only on the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board but on numerous other authdrities governittg hospitals. Finally the concluding suggestion made by the Commission that the control of all public hospitals should be centralised can scarcely have been the result of its discoveries dnring the conrse of these investigations, for it would manifestly be unfair to broadly condemn local control because of defectS held to have been revealed in Connection with a single institution. Rather would it appear that in this connection opportunity has been taken to give voice to preconceived notions. In any case the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board proved itself capable of dealing with its problems even if of its own creation. Only special circumstances hampered its efficien.t administration and the report in every way vindicates the decisions that the majority of the board had arrived at.