HOSPITAL ACCOUNTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81866, 16 October 1906, Page 3

HOSPITAL ACCOUNTS.

MR. COCK'S CRITICISM. Tradesmen will have to be fairly spry to "point" on the Hospital Board as long as Mr R. Ccck keeps his eagle eye on tjie hospital accounts. On Monday he "put on his hobnailed boots" and went rough-shod over the milk supply bill for .£l2 6.5. "It's preposterous," he said, "to think that our patients drink nearlv two quarts of milk pe r day.'' Then, addressing the country" representatives, he said, "You gentlemen farmers slush away a good deal of milk. but I guarantee you don't use anything like two guarts each, all told. ' One volunteered the information that two quarts a day supplied his whole household, cats and dogs included. This only whetted Mr Cocks wrath, and, overlooking the fact that a staff of about twenty nurses had to be supplied with food and drink, persisted in his computation that the 1480 quarts of milk in the month worked out at nearly two quarts per patient, and as it was impossible for such a quantity to be used, he thought it could never have been supplied. Then followed a discussion, in which several members expressed their surprise at the lax supervision of goods supplied to the hospital. Mr Tisch said the accounts for the Old People's Home always tallied with the figures taken by the manager, Mr Farrar. He had had galon measures made in order that the milk delivered at both institutioncould be checked. Whil-t the manager looked after things a'.'the limine. there seemed no tegular supervision at the hospital. He mentioned that the coal recently weighed was found W be overweight. The secretary said he had on several mornings seen meat weighed at 'he butcher's shop, and sent off; but these figures did not tally with those showing the amount received by the matron. He suggested that ihe Board should take 4 leaf out of the bunk of the prison authorities, who had a fixed time for the delivery of supplies, and refused to accept any that came late. Some Buch provision will be made in the next conditions of contract, and someone, probably the gardenerwill be deputed to receive and check all goods delivered. DEPARTMENTAL MISREPRESENTATION. At the *ame meeting. Mr Burg,--* complained of th« glaring injustice perpetrated in the annual icp'Tt issued by the Government in the hopitals of the colony. The figuresupplied by the Board's secretary had been so altered that the New Plymouth Hospital had been made, in spite of the rigid economy practised, to look a most extravagant and cost I v in s titution, with an average maintenance cost of Xs; pit patient, the highest in the colony, while, as Mr Burgess said, the pern-mage of !••■- collected was "away out of sjf.],, higher than any other hospital. Then, again, the New I'hm utl Hospital was shown to have |nst ; 5. over every patient. Waikato being s, cond with i,'/i, and Dunedin thin' Witll !;.'■ Mr Cock: And yet we col>ct«d more than any other. Messrs Burgess, Andrew-, and Cock stated they had cnd'ovni"! « make t'tc figures fit in with the Iloatd's annual statement, but failed. Mr Burgess mentioning that in ordinary cost, provisions, etc.. thiItoard's figures compared favourable with other in-tiiutinnn. l,i t|iu punted report, the contributions from loial hotiie-. amount ng to /TiSo/ X !<'• were shoun as ,•£'«>-' 13 11. The Government subsidyrunning into /J.SJM.X 11 K, was -hour, as £21114 i'ii). and tin- tola! pvii'i. amounting t" />)4s< s '- '"•• V -' ;|S P" 1 '" lished as />4i ?.'. The secretary said lie could not mi derstand why the figure supplied ha.l been cut about. The Chairman remarked 'Lai there would be little building < h . to thin year's account, the r-v -n nual report should -how the at-Tag'-maintenance charge at : b->■ 11 5 p' ; da}. The Board passed the f' H»w ng n«><:;<lon: "Th'S IS"a-d pi-'*e-l-against the wav id v.hi' li ih'- I'ttun ef cos. for !l.s|,;ta' a-.d Ciiari able Aid Boards are published by the Dpartm'nt. a- b'ing al"-oiot-r tn — loiding. and not giving a c"tn-i • view- ef the May in -lie li 'ii' -cpara - - Boards are adorn so ■■< d. and -ng gf-s t|sp< m-., r cue -h-mld b- t be in making up return 5 f' r 'lk fit'on believing t'.at th s would m.ike thenof mote value."

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