The Patea Mail. Established 1875. MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 1883. THE HOSPITAL AGAIN.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1069, 6 August 1883, Page 2

The Patea Mail. Established 1875. MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 1883. THE HOSPITAL AGAIN.

The question of supporting the Hospital was brought up at the last meetings of the Hawcra Borough and County Councils, and met with a decided refusal to have anything to do with it. Pa tea people therefore now know that if the institution has to be kept going, they need not look for any assistance from the above quarter ; at anyratc until the railway is open, when, if our Institution is still in existence, patients might again be sent from the Hawera district. But that is in the future, and we have to face the immediate present. We may remark en passant that some of the Hawera people appear to think that the report of the Inspector of Hospitals was specially unfavourable to the Patea Hospital. This is not sustained by a reference to the report itself, though the Inspector points out that many of the country hospitals, including those of New Plymouth, Patea, and Wanganui, are not affluently furnished. He says : “ Some of the establishments have an appearance of homeliness and great comfort; others look starved and poverty stricken, while a third class present evidence of a very strict economy, without detriment to the well-being of the patients. Cne thing appears to me very plain ; the best managed are those which are the subjects of local interest and support.” Of New Plymouth Hospital he says : “ The hospital is an old wooden building, much improved by recent alterations, but not satisfactory from a sanitary point of view, as shown by the frequent prevalence of erysipelas within its walls. The main ward contains eight iron bedsteads with straw palliasses, flax mattresses and bolsters, and feather pillows. There is no floor covering nor bedside mat, and no picture or ornament. The other wards have a still rougher appearance.” Of Wanganui Hospital the Inspector remarks :—“ The rooms have a bare and somewhat povertystricken appearance particularly the older ones, the walls and ceilings of which are very dirty. The sanitary arrangements are very defective. Only one water closet adjoins the hospital; this opens out of a male ward and has no intercepting lobby. Poultices and rags are thrown into a disused shallow well at no great distance from the male wards. Earth is said to be thrown in occasionally, but I could see nothing except a foul mass of rags. This arrangement is most objectionable. The hospital is altogether unworthy of the town of Wanganui, and it is, in my opinion, a mistake to build any further extensions of it. The present site would doubtless realise a considerable sum for building purposes.” The Inspector’s report of Patea Hospital was published in our issue of July 20. It concludes thus : “An additional ward should be fitted up at a small cost in the" second "storey. A starved and poverty-stricken appearance however pervades the whole Hospital, upon which some expenditure is absolutely necessary unless its doors are to be closed. The Committee have no funds in hand at present. There are no private or other subscribers, and no endowments.” The Inspector discovers poverty at most of the country hospitals ; and some are condemned for other serious faults, but not, as far as we can perceive, either of the three hospitals in this vicinity to which we have referred. There is nothing about recommending Patea Hospital to be closed, as was stated at the Hawera County Council meeting. The accommodation and furnishings are no doubt poor; but if the control comes into the hands of a committee directly interested, an improvement in this respect will soon be effected. And how desirable and necessary it is that the Hospital should not be closed has just received another illustration. There is now lying in the Australasian Hotel a man with a broken leg, sustained by falling down stairs. He is without means, and is clearly a case for hospital treatment. Doctors, like other people, must have payment for their services ; but with no hospital and no money the unfortunate who meets with an accident has a bad prospect indeed. We trust that a final effort will now be made to settle this Hospital question. A personal canvass of the district would, we think, result in the necessary amount being subscribed ; and we venture to think that the Borough Council might, on behalf of the residents, risk the expense of employing a suitable man for that purpose.