HOSPITAL REQUIREMENTS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 45, 2 June 1910, Page 3

HOSPITAL REQUIREMENTS

AT STRATFORD. COMPLETING THE EQUIPMENT. DR. PAGET'S VIEWS, A very interesting and useful discussion arose at the Stratford Hospital Board's meeting yesterday upon xhe equipment of the institution, showing, inter alia, that the Board is not yet over its building troubles. j HOSPITAL SATURDAY IT'NDS. i The secretary reported that as the result of t'lie recent Hospital Saturday collections and Hospital hall he had about £llO in hand. There were further boxes to come in, and as the balance-sheet of the hall had not been completed he could not state the actual result of the effort. iir. Porritt thought it was about time that the Board decided to expend the money collected on Hospital Saturday last year, allegedly for the purpose of installing x-rays. This money was at present locked up, which was not fair to the subscribers. The secretary, at the request of the chairman, said the Board had £IOO in hand, upon which the Government subsidy of £1 4s in the £ had been received. The promoters had been desirous that the money should he expended in installing the x-rays, but the medical superintendent and the Inspec-tor-General considered this unnecessary. NO RONTGEN RAYS. Mr. Porritt said that 'he was quite agreed that an x-rays installation was not required, seeing that cases for its use were few and far between, and the New Plymouth installation was available at any "time. He thought the money would" be better spent in the - erection of an isolation ward. The. Board, however, seemed to have its hands tied, as the money had been publicly subscribed for this special purpose. He moved that the matter be referred to the promoters, the Board being of opinion that the installation of x-rays was not required, and that the medical officer be consulted as to the best means of spend-, ing the money. ill - . Meredith seconded, considering that any departure from the x-rays proposals would be a breach of faith with subscribers'. AMBULANCES. Mr. Ward was in favor of purchasing ambulances, to be placed on the railway works and in various parts of the district. He considered it inadvisable to refer the matter back to the Oddfellows, for the money had not been subscribed hy them, but by the public of the district, and a considerable proportion of it by the men on the railway works. Further, he doubted whether the lodge had decided to as'k that the money raised the other day snould be used in the erection of a maternity ward, as advertised by the promoters. He had it on excellent authority that the lodge 'had carried a resolution in favor of ambulances. Mr. Marfell said he had discussed the matter with several representative people, and they urged that, the Board I should do as they liked with the money. I Mr. Ward moved an amendment tnat |a. committee be set up, consisting of Messrs. Marchant, Marfell, Porritt and Cameron, to consult the medical superintendent as to What is most needed at the hospital, and to report to next meeting. \A BAD PRECEDENT. Mr. Maxwell considered the motion illogical. If it were adopted it would become possible for anyone to start a collection in the street, collect money, and dictate to the Board how it should be spent. The money collected iby.any person or organisation should be placed in the hands of the Board for expenditure as the members thought fit. It would be a. different matter if the promoters had first approached the Board and obtained the Efoafd's approval of their project. Mr. Kennedy quite approved these remarks, saying that it Would have been better, and only ordinarily courteous, had the promoters first consulted the Board. It was decided to hold over the motion until the medical officer should have been consulted. NOTHING NEiEDED. Dr. Paget attended the meeting later, by request. By this time Mr. Marciiant had taken the chair. In reviewing the position, he said that the Board wasi very grateful to the promoters of the) funds, but unfortunately the Board had no room to spare for the x-rays instal-j lation. In New Plymouth Hospital quite' a large apartment was used for the Rontgen rays photography. i Dr. Paget said that, off-hand, he could not say that he knew of any very urgent necessity at the institution. (Cr. Maxwell: Hear, hear; I thought so.) ( Perhaps the most urgent requirement was an adequate store-room for bin- J dages. cotton-wool and so on. At nresent there was-no room to enable rbel Board to carry an adequate stock, and; what they had could not be kept unlet lock and key. The matron coild keep ] no check on it, and under such a system' a heavy waste was' inevitable l! the, Board could carry large stocks, it could! buy more cheaply. At present the stuff was kent everywhere :uv.l anywhere. There was no provision made for anything of the kind. This was absolutely the MOST INADEQUATELY EQIMI'IEP hospital in that way that was ever put up. Not a single cupboarl bid been provided in the plans, and cue of the walls had to be chopped to pieces to admit the first cupboard. There w.is no provision made for accommodation ior the nurses, or for the wavusnuu, no washhouse, or anything else. The chairman remarked that the meeting was drifting from the point. In answer to a question fro.ii tiie chairman. Dr. Paget said he was not in fa\or of an x-rays installation unless lie was as'sured that there was iomeoae to urn it properly. New Plymouth could not run this department, he was sire, but that it had in Dr. Leatham a man who was practically a man of leisure to run it for them." He would like to know whether the x-rays app.i.arus a I Hawc-ra was serving any useful purpose. Dr. Leatham. had told him t'..at it was not until lie had had fully a year's- experience that the apparatus became really useful. They hadn't a man here to take up the work as' Dr. Leatiham had done, and for that reason he would not advise the Board t* instal x-rays. He worn 1 like to have it, of course, but jiur.-.in; the apparatus in wouldn't give him the use of it. He wasn't prepared to undertake the work himself—lie couldn't afford the time. In answer to Mr. Kennedy, Dr. Paget said he couldn't advise upon the cost of an ambulance. Nor did he think it would be of very much use, for most patients came from a distance, and the delay caused in waiting for an ambulance, and the very little extra comfort derived from it, would not compensate' for the injury

that might be done to the patient. Ambulances would be useful if they could be stationed in various parts of the district. MATERNITY WARD OPPOSED. Dr. Paget further considered that this year's collection and subsidy was insufficient to provide a maternity ward. He was not ill favor of a maternity ward, and knew of 110 hospital in the Dominion that had one connected with it. He would have 110 hesitation in taking a maternity patient into the present hospital in a case of grave emergency and the present staff could treat it. But taking in ordinary maternity cases, and providing fully for flie maintenance and privacy of maternity patients, would ontail large expenditure and a special stall'. The gathering together 01 a number of maternity eases 111 one building would be exceedingly and essentially hud. He believed a matron specially qualified in maternity work would have to be engaged. He would only add, he snid, that the policy of establishing these maternity wards at general hospitals would further what the present legislation was doing —making it more ,uid more difficult to treat maternity cases in country districts. The present trend of unwise legislation was driving out from tJie nursing profession a very useful class of maternity nurses. A SUGGESTION APPROVED. As to an isolation ward, that would be the most useful building that, they could possibly put up. It might often be used for lengthy periods, but then it could be used in various ways. Two small wards would be needed, each capable of accommodating two patients, a room for the nurse, a kitchen and a bathroom. " A HUNDRED DR. VALINTINES." In answer to Mr. Marfell, Dr. Paget said that he would be very much surprised to find that Dr. Valintine was strongly in favor of maternity wards. Further, he considered himself better qualified to give an opinion on a matter of this kind in a country district than Dr. Valintine was, for he based his opinion on his practical experience. If a hundred Dr. Valintines favored the idea it would not alter his opinion one iota. The Board decided to consult Dr. Valintine upon the matter, and to obtain his; advice as to the most useful expenditure of the funds, with a view of placing a recommendation before the promoters.