THE HOSPITAL TROUBLE

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 218, 9 August 1939, Page 3

THE HOSPITAL TROUBLE

Sir.—ln vour report pi the meeting held by the Hospital Hoard oil Friday last, it is stated that the chairman, is not averse to the piiblicaiou of the lacs and of the evidence given to Dr. Shore during Ids recent investigation and! during that of November last. It is refreshing to realise that at last the Hoard is awakening to its duty to the public in this respect. However it is still too early for anyone; outside that Hoard toi lorm any opinion as o the merits or demerits ol their action in accepting wholesale resignations, and until the facts are published, the community must sillier in silence, —and “sillier” may he d( cmed the-correct word to use in this case. From tin* mooting one or two questions must inevitably arise in : peoples minds, and the urgency and gravity of the position compels ail adequate and immediate answer Irom the Hoard. Firstly, the meeting received a letter from the .Matron in. which she “expressed Iht amazainent at the Hoard’s action”. Why should this lie soy |f ( as the Chairman intimated, the present trouble is dire toi non-co-operation,—why this amazement, because the Hoard must Imve'takon some steps to overcome the difficulty, and the Matron must have received some intimation ol the possible results of such a course, if the Hoard were doing their best to overcome the difficulty. No amazement apparently was expressed hv the Superintendent?

■Why is this? If the Matron eoulcli see only an incredihle position, surely that would also he apparent to the Superintendent] Or is it somethin”; deeper than mere 11011-cooperation Then who despatched the telegram calling Dr. Shore to Opotiki when, according to the Chairman, he was already oh his. way to Wliangarei ? It must have come from someone thoroughly an fait with the position, and yet the Board doe's not acknowledge sending the message. "Why "did the position - become. Averse after the November investigation? If matters hecame worse so soon after this, as the Chairman iiitimate.s, then surely that was the tinny for acion, not eigth or nine months later after till) Board has lie on forced into a position by the action of the staff iself. This would appear to be and the Board owes the public a full explanation. It is reported that Air. Clark stated that nothing had ever been produced to substantiate the statements made in the letter from’ the nurses. As the public has 1 been denied its right to know these. allegations, whatever they, may be, there, is no method of arriving at the truth or idleness of this, hut one fact is abundantly clear, and that is that* these allegations must have been extremely serious for the nurses to have backed up their letter with their resignations. For the Board to accept their resignations, means one of two things.— either the Bbard agreed with their

allegations, and considered a clean sweep tile best manner out of the difficulty, or else they considered that there was no truth at all in them, and labelled the entire staff as non-ceoper--ators deserving dismissal. if the former is true, then what steps didthe Hoard) take to establish the facts, and what opportunity was the stuff given of suhsantiating their claims? If the latter is true, then the Hoard stands indicted as having acted precipitately in ■ accepting the resignations. In any case it is the duty of the Hoard to inform the public, who arc both the future patients and the employers, of the exact position without delay, and by publishing the letter referred to they would be acting in the public interest. At present they leave themselves culpable in the extreme by maintaining tliier attitude of silence. VERY INTER.k'STEJ).