PAPAROA HOSPITAL

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1063, 29 August 1930, Page 13

PAPAROA HOSPITAL

OPPOSITION TO CLOSING RETURN OF CONFIDENCE Special to THE SUN PAPAROA, Thursday. A protest against the proposed closing of the Nurse Cavell Memorial Hospital at Paparoa was made at a meeting of residents last evening. The hospital is controlled by the Kaipara Hospital Board, with a base hospital at Te Kopuru. Mr. J. H. McCarroll, chairman of the board, said the hospital had not been functioning as it should during the past 1 2 months. Three deaths among maternity cases had occurred, of which but only one was puerperal septicaemia. Press reports had alarmed the public, hence there had been a marked falling-olf in the number of patients admitted. Mr. McCarroll said that all disinfection regulations required by the Health Department had been carried out. After the inquiry had been held, the department and the board were perfectly satisfied that the hospital was safe and the staff and equipment were adequate for future cases. There was no reason why people should hesitate to use it. Under the new rules, only maternity cases and clean medical and surgical cases would be admitted. Mr. McCarroll said in view of lack of support, t b e board had considered the question or closing the hospital, but he considered this was a retrograde step, and urged settlers to support their own' institution. A resolution was carried protesting against the proposed' closing of the hospital, in view of the fact that public confidence was returning. Mr. McCarroll said no complaints regarding the present medical and nursing staff had ever been received by the board. Fees had not been advanced, and were 9s a day at both hospitals, as compared with the charge of 12s made by the Whangarei Board and 12s 3d by the Auckland Board.