HOSPITAL BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 September 1916, Page 6

HOSPITAL BOARD.

CONFERENCE WITH DR. VALINTINE. ACCOMMODATION FOR NURSES. A special meeting of the above Board was held yesterday morning for the purpose of discussing the question of nurses' accommodation and an isolation ward at .the New 'Plymouth hospital. Dr. Valintine, Inspector General of Hospitals, was in attendance, and the following members of the Board were preesnt:—Mrs. JJockrill, Messrs. F. G. J. Bcllringer (chairman), A. E. Sykes, E. Maxwell, N. K. Mcßeynolds, D. McAllum, J. R. Hill, A. H. Halcombe, D. H. McDonald.

Mr. Bellringer said that the primary 'object to the Board in asking Dr. Valintine to meet them was to consult him aa to the better accommodation *of the nurses. As was well known, the position was now acute, and must he remedied. The number of patients ireated in the new building had been far larger than had been anticipated. The Board had done its best (a poor one. perhaps) to cope with the difficulty. Various means had beer/ tried, but these had not been satisfactory, and tne Board recognised now that they ivould have to build sooner or later, as there was no suitable house in the vicinity of the hospital that could be rented. A plan had been prepared of alterations to the old hospital building, which would provide for the nurses' accommodation, and also for infectious diseases cases. On this plan the Board sought Dr. Valin-

tine's advice. Mr. Maxwell said that the general feeling of the Board was to get suitable accommodation for the nurses, and for isolation cases, as speedily as possible. Members of the Board had inspected the old hospital building, and it was probably in better condition than any wooden structure that the Board could procure or build at the present time, for it was thoroughly seasoned. He did not see why such a good building should be sacrificed, and not utilised in the emergency that had arisen. It was a larger edifice than any the Board could contemplate erecting for some years. If it were thoroughly cleansed and renovated, and a proper barrier put up between the nurses' rooms and the isolation ward,

the difficulty would be met. If the building were, not used the matter would be delayed for a very long time. Another factor was that the Board had at present no suitable site for: the erection of a new structure.

Dr. Valintine said that the proposal of utilising the old hospital building for the purposes named was a new one to him. It had been practically agreed that the old institution should bo used as a hospital for chronic eases from the whole of Taranaki, including Stratford and Hawera, and also for isolation purposes. He was much impressed by Mr. Maxwell's remarks anent the excellent condition of the building, which was a very large, one, The proposal to provide accommodation in it for the nurses was one worthy of serious consideration, and he did not perceive any great objection to it. But before he oould agree to the proposed alteration he must satisfy himself that there would remain ample accommodation for chronic and emergency cases. The present infectious diseases hospital was quite inadequate, and some further provision must be made. The demand for hospital accommodation had vastly increased during the past ten years. So far as he ould judge the erection of a building for the accommodation of, say, 50 nurses, would prove a very costly undertaking, and it would not be wise

for the. Board to pursue with the building unless provision were made for 70 or 80 nurses, for, from what he could see, the Board would have to provide one nurse's bed for every two beds in the hospital. At present, the general average accommodation for. New Zealand was one nurse to every three patients, but, approximately, it really was one nurse for every 2.2 patients. The question of site was, again, another very serious difficulty. The Board must not

lose sight of the fact that provision had to be made for all the chronic cases in the district, but, of course, a good, many

incurables would be treated in the Old People's Home. Mr. Bellringer said that the proposed alteration would provide accommodation for 50 nurses. The alteration would cost

a'bout £7OO. At present the nursing staff were .amply provided with sitting rooms and dining-rooms. Indeed, lie thought it absurd that separate diningrooms should be provided for nurses and probationers. ■Dr. Valintine said that, judging from the plans, he considered all cooking, except that for emergency eases, could lie done in the main building. He was impressed with the advisability of adopting the proposed alteration, especially in view of the urgency of the matter, and the fact that a suitable site for a new building was not available. He thought there was every possibility of the Board

being allowed to utilise the old hospital ■buildings as a temporary expedient. He would consider the plans, and inform the Board of his decision within a few days.

In reply to a question by a mem'lier, Dr. Vaiintiue said that it was quite unlikely that the Board would receive, at the present time, a.Government subsidy of £4OOO or £SOOO that would 'tie entailed by the erection of a new building, GENKPAL. Mr. Bellringer detailed what tne Board had done to prepare for cases of infantile paralysis, and asked Dr. Valintine if he considered the local body was doing enough in this direction. Dr. Valintine suggested that if tlice happened a recrudescence of the malady in the district, cases should be sent away to, say Wellington, if the Board cculd not see theii way to send a nurse down to Wellington to receive instruction from the specialist nurse provided by the (aover.mient for the purpose. The trouble so fui had been that many nurses had been unable to grasp the specialist's methods of treatment. Again, there was so guarantee that a nurse who had mastered the treatment would return to and remain in the district which snit her. (He had practically arranged with the Wellington Hospital Board for the establishment of a ward in that city, so that easts from other districts could be treated there. He hoped that the malady would be dealt with in the four centres; to concentrate the treatment of cases would be the cheapest and most efficient way of dealing with the disease. The chairman referred to the price of the anti-toxin supplied by the Government; it was, he said, a big item in the Board's yearly expenditure. Dr. Val'iitine said that the Govern■ment was letting Hospital Hoards have the serum at cost price, but he would see it any reduction could be made.

District nurses, said the Inspector-Gen-eral, should charge fees for consultation as per scale, when a family could afiord it. Bat it was. not the function of a

district nurse to act as a "dead letter," and she should give advice at any time she Was requested to, whether or no payment was proffered, and it was then her duty to report to tha Board, whose servant she was.

Reverting to the utilisation of the old hospital building, Dr. Valintine said that he should like to see a maternity ward established in the wing adjacent to the one in which it is proposed to accommodate the nurses, but here again, he said, the question of an isolation ward bocame an acute problem. r'-.e Inspector-General and the members of the Board then had a conversational and informative discussion "in co'i.mittee'' en several questions affecting hospital matters in • general, and the conference closed.with a warm vote of thankg to Dr, A'alintine.