Waikato District Hospital and Charitable Aid Board.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 401, 11 September 1889, Page 2

Waikato District Hospital and Charitable Aid Board.

As stated in our last issue, at the Waikato Hospital and Charitable Aid Board meeting, held on Wednesday, 4th mat, a long discussion took , plcae, respecting the alleged extravagant management of the Hospital j and also respecting a return compiled and published by Mr James Hally, of Oarabridge, showing the cost of management of a number of Hospitals in the Colony, an compared with Hamilton Hospital, much to the disadvantage of the latter. ■Several of the members denounced Mr Hally's statement as most one sided, in fact, they were greatly surpiised that Mr Hally should have put forward so unfair a statement; placing the Waikato Hospital expenditure apparently in the worst possible light, his statement being only compiled from certain Hospital returns, whilst othewi, that would have been more favourable, were omitted. Mr Chepmell efrew attention to the last Government Report on Hospitals, which showed that \ n tome instances professional charges were very low indeed, but that could not be always taken as satisfactory ; for instance, see what wan said in the Report about the rivalry between two Doctors attending the Oamaru Hospital. A^ain, with respect to Rivorton Hospital, the Report stated the new Hospital had cost £1800, and was anything hut satisfactory ; whereas the Report refers in high terms to the new Hamilton Hospital, which had only cost about £700. Beyond a doubt Dr Kenny, who had a great deal to do with designing, etc., of the -Hospital, had been the means of saving the Board a good deal of money with respect thereto, and was deserving of great credit in the matter. Both the other Hospitals he referred to had about a like number of patients to Hamilton. A number of Hospitals in the Colony retained no paid surgeons. Hamilton was practically isolated as regards medical skill as compared with cities, and they were in duty bound to pay a sufficient salary to retain theservices of a thoroughly qualified medical man, and if for the s.tke or! some small saving in the salary, they engaged an indifferent surgeon they would \ not be doing justice to the districts contributing ; seeing there were not the opportunities for calling in a consulting surgeon in critioal cases, as could be done J in lartrer towns. Mr Sandei Raid he had gone carefully into the matter, and endorsed Mr ChepmeU's remark"that fully £300 set down in last year's Report of expenditure were non-recurring items, in fact more than £300. Mr Sand es then read a statement he had compiled from last year's Report on Hamilton Hospital expenditure, and estimated * reduction in expenditure on account of these items next year, as follows, viz. : Last year, surgery, £164 17s lid ; say for next year LB4 (L 7 per month being above the average cost of drugs consumed per month so far), balance, representing reduced expenditure for next year, L 8 0; bedding, £38 2s 5d ; say £20 ; reduction, £18 2s 5d ; furniture and earthenware, £58 14s 7d ; say £14; reduction £44 14s 7d ; repairs (fixing up old Hospital), £91 18s 7d; nil ; reduction, £91 18s 7d ; printing and stationery, £55 17i 2d ; «ay £25 17h 2H ; reduction, £30 ; rent, £47 10s ; nil (ihe land and property being now purchased and paid for); reduction, £47 10s ; water supply i £45 8s 6d ; nil (the work being now done by one of the employees of the Board); reduction, £45 8s 6d ; total estimated reduction for next year, £357 14s lOd. The cost per diem per patient at Hamil • ton Hospital wai set down in the Report nt 10a 3|d, but he (Mr Sandeß) was of opinion this would be reduced in the near future to at least 7s 6d, when the many and heavy expenses unavoidable at the first starting of » new Institution of the kind had been got over. There were 34 hospitals in the Colony outside of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and the average cost per patient per diem was about 65, and many of those were hospitals long established. Mr Brunokill : I certainly contend the salary we are now paying the Doctor is quite sufficient, especially seeing the Chairman told us at the last monthly meeting the Doctor was making £400 a year by private practice ; or a total of £700 a year. The Chairman remarked that in the matter of expenditure on wine, ale, and ■uch like, Hamilton Hospital ranked second or third lowest in the whole Colony. The discussion then ended.

A return has been made showing/ the estimated cost per lb of the carriage of mail matter by the Sun Francisco and Direct Services. By San Francisco the cost of carriage per lb is, with the present subaidy, 18s 8d for letters, Is Id for books, and 4d tor newspapers. With a subsidy of £15,000 and no bonus, the coßt per lb would be 10s 9d for letters, 7d for books, and 2d for newspapers. With a gubsidy-of £10,000 and no bonus, the cost would" be 7s 2d for letters, 5d for books, and Id for newspapers, (The fractions are omitted.) The cost per lb by the Direct service is 25s Id for letters, Is 5d for books, and 5d for newspapers. < *