CORRESPONDENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 24 November 1917, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

HOSPITAL MATTERS. To the Editor. Sir, —Those who follow hospital Business can see how slight 'Mr. Hnlcombe's knowledge of it is, so llmt we may say, as Mr. Masioy said about the Hon. (1. Fowld's fourth party, "it is not worth considering." But clearly, the cap fits. and his "break out" as reported in t.o-dny's papers is, to use the language of the hunting; field, ''only the wincing of (he galled steed." !sut some who do not Know Mr. Halcombe may think there is a case to answer, and for these I have to ask your forbearance to go over the whole sickening ground, in a brief manner—too brief to do myself justice—so as to drive my charges further home, for f am on too many boards to make unauthorised statements. When Dr. Walker threatened resignation if there was an inquiry, was lie not told to "resign and be blessed?" Then what followed? The real resignations came from the hoard, with early doors at tlmt. Pure funk them, and they disappeared, except Mr. Halcombe. Now the doctors are masters of the situation, and the new board must go hat in hand, as things are "still delicate," so one of these "pitiable messes" could have been averted had there been a strong man who 'would have said, "Either, do not hold this inquiry and do not defy the doetors. or else hold it and accept their resignations." When I addressed an open letter to the chairman, T made the same charges of squandering, but no one could reply, as my figures were irrefutable, and these figures, if applied to the 111 patients treated in October, with the loss of 3s GUI per head per day, represent £l!} lis daily, or f JS2 Is a month. Now a great deal of this losS could be saved by making wealthy patients pay full fare (a recent inmate had €12,000 out on mortgage) and by adopting my scheme of classification or some other one. Mr. Halcombe next states that if the board had looked better after the patients than the ratepayers the trouble would not have happened. Well, was not he on the board, and probably said nothing? But I say that neither of these two classes were greatly considered. As regards the former, the baiting of the late matron and the insulting of the finest medical staff in the colony, men who are sacrificing small fortunes in their hospital work, did not assist things, while the ratepayers were only looked on as milk cows. When the new hospital was built every one knew that with this subsidy of 3s fid per day per head the attendance would be double and treble, yet no efforts were made for increased accommodation for extra nurses, then followed panic arrangements, no head, no one who understood financial management, no effort to get moneys in. It is reported that £SOOO was outstanding a little while ago, and about which there should be an inquiry. It was simply pay out all the time, even to unauthorised expenditure, and so they got into that financial mess, to-day's report of which must be. very galling to the late hoard's defender, and I have yet to learn that this gentleman "broke out" when these blunders were being perpetrated I am drawing too heavily on your valuable space, and reserve my remarks about accounts till later, hut I want the secretary to write you ollicially the longest period that accounts were not rendered during the late hoard's term, because I have an account before me that will make someone look foolish, and I have had many complaints that eighteen months have elapsed before patients got an account.—l am. etc., W. E. WRIGHT. Rahotu.