TARANAKI HOSPITAL BOARD.

Taranaki Daily News, 27 June 1917, Page 3

TARANAKI HOSPITAL BOARD.

SPECIAL MEETING. A special mecing of tlio Taranaki Hospital and Charitable Aid Board was held yesterday to deal with business adjoum- ■ cd from the ordinary monthly meeting on Wednesday last. Present: Mr E Maxwell (voted to the chair), Mrs f" Dorkrill, Messrs SI. J. Mcßeynolds, J. R. Hill, J. Brown, A. H. Halcomhc, G. V Tate, D. H. McDonald, E. Gilmour. NURSES' COTTAGES. The chairman said that on tiie visit of the Board to the hospital on Wednesday last the matron impressed upon them the necessity of providing additional accommodation for the nerses There uvas certainly a pressing need for Mich, accommodation, and a new nurses' home could not be undertaken for some considerable time. Mr Gilmour said the old cottage could be renovated to provide comfortably for six nurses at a cost estimated by Mr Messongcr, architect, of £OO or £7O. It had been suggested that the old laundry should be shifted and added to the cottage so as to provide accommodation for twelve nurses, but no estimate of the cost of doing that had been obtained. Whatever was done about shifting the laundry, the vsrk of renovating the cottage should be .proceeded with at once. Mr. Brown moved that Mr. F. Messenger be asked to report and supply an estimate of the cost of removing the laundry, renovating the cottage, and building a central addition. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hill. Mr. Hill asked if it would not be wise to defer incurring the expense that would be involved until the question of erecting a new nurses' home had been decided, especially as the site of the latter might be encroached upon by the cottage and laundry. Mr. Brown said any difficulty regarding the site could be overcome by having the cottage and laundry so constructed •that the buildings could easily be moved. The chairman said Mr. Messenger's report and estimate would come before the next meeting of the Board, together with a postponed motion that the matter of building a new nurses' home be deferred till after the war. The question in all its bearings, including that of site, could then be discussed. He mas afraid it would be a long time before they would be able to make the neffisary financial arrangements to erect the new home.

The motion was then put and carried. MANAGEMENT OF FARM. The resignation of Mr. C. T. Webb as manager of the Board's farm was received and accepted. Mr. Gilmour, speaking on the proposal to deal with applications for the vacant position, said ho was not satisfied with the methods by which the farm had been managed. The receipts for the vqar had been ££>6l and the expenditure .-ESS!), 'but it had cost the board £350 for fruit and vegetables. In his opinion £l5O of that £350 could have been saved by the supply of vegetables from the farm. It seemed to him also unsatisfactory that on a small farm of 32 acres two men should be occupied all their time, at a cost of £270 a year., in milking cows and feeding pigs, and that when ploughing had to be done outside assistance had to be employed. The chairman said he wished it made perfectly clear to the public that the farm had paid. Whethcr/t had paid as well as it might have done was a no\«s on which he was not then in a position to express an opinion, but the fact remained that the balance sheet for the year showed a profit of £lll, the receipts having been £961 and the expenditure £950. The Board should first appoint a manager and then they night consider if anything could be done to reduce the expenses and increase the products of the fami. The applications, seven in number, were then opened and considered. On the motion of Mr. Gilmour, seconded by Mr. Mac Donald, it was resolved to appoint Mr. W. O.' Noble to the position at a salary of £l2 per month, a committee consisting of Messrs Brown, Tate and Halcombe being appointed to draw up a schedule of the terms and duties. MATRON'S RESIGNATION. The matron, Miss Brown, tendered her resignation as matron of the hospital. Mr. Hill moved "That Miss Browne's resignation be accepted as from October 31. and that the board place on record its high appreciation of her long and valuable services."—Seconded by Mr. Mr. Gilmour and carried. Mr. Hill moved that Miss Brown be gi anted leave of absence on full pay from .Tnly 10 to October 31.—Seconded by Mrs. Dockrill and. carried. , Mrs. Dockrill moved that Sister Campbell, as senior sister, be requested to act temporarily as matron, a-nd that Sister Gill be similarly asked to act as senior sister.—Seconded by Mr. Gilmour and carried. * GENERAL. It was decided to ask the New Plymouth Borough Council to undertake the work of putting the internal telephone arrangements at the hospital in proper' order. The selection of a site for an incinerator at the hospital was left to the health inspector and the borough sanitary inspector, to consult with the medical superintendent (Dr. Walker). An offer from Mr. L. B. Webster to sell his property at Westown to . the Board was held over for consideration. The chairman suggested that a committee should he appointed to consider the rules of the proposed Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards' Association, such committee to be empowered to ask the assistance of Mr. F. C. J. Bellringer, tlje late chairman of the Board.—The suggestion was adopted and Messrs Brown, Hill, Gilmour and Halcombe were appointed to form the committee. The Mayor of New Plymouth intimated that tho motor ambulance subscribed for by the people of the town and surrounding district had now arrived and was ready for delivery. He asked tho Board if they were prepared to take over responsibility for care anif up-keep.—lt was resolved to thank the Mayor for his action in connection with procuring the ambulance, and that he be informed that the Board is prepared to take it over.

Mr. Hill stated that Mr. 'Luscombe desired to be relieved of his duties at the hospital.—Tt was decided to accede to the request and to thank Mr. Luscombe for ills valuable assistance in laying out the grounds. The Rev. T\ Harvie, St. Mary's Jhnrch, applied for permission to hold short relicr'sous services ir. the hospital on Sund:;v- —Kf-solved to- refer Mr. Harvie to tl-.e Board's t>;-laws providing that rcli-

gioua services at the hospital were subject to the sanction of the medical sunermtendent. Mr. Hill was appointed acting chairman of the Board, Mr. Maxwell decern" the position on the ground that he would have very little" time at his disposal for some weeks to come. Mr. Gilmour gave notice that at next meeting he would move "That immediate «feps be taken for the erection of a new isolation ward at the hospital."