S.C. HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE AID BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1469, 18 February 1886, Page 3

S.C. HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE AID BOARD.

An ordinary meeting of the S.C. Hospital and Charitable Aid Board took place on Tuesday evening. Present—Messrs A. Hayes, C. Y. Clarke, John Talbot, G. F. Clulee, and E. A, Barker. Mr B. H. Lough, the Secretary, was in attendance. Mr G. F. Clulee was voted to the chair. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed, and the following correspondence was read and dealt with : Mr Jowsey, the Steward, wrote tbat he had given the head nurse in the male ward notice to leave, and his action was approved.

Dr Drew, Resident Surgeon, wrote applying for a fortnight’s leave of absence, stating that Dr Macmtyre had agreed to fill is position. —The applieswas granted. The WaimateCounty Council forwarded a cheque for the amount of their contrite the Board.

A resolution was passed, calling on the Geraldine County Council to pay the balance of their contribution, £284 3s 4d, without delay. Dr Grabham’s (Inspector of Hospitals) report on the Hospital was read. The report lavishly praised the way in which the Hospital was conducted, and said the invalid furniture was not to be equalled in the colony. Still many wants needed attention. The old mortuary bad not been replaced, there was no operating room, no consulting room other than the dispensary, and the nurses badly needed a common sitting room,

Messrs Merchant and Meason, engineers, reported on the hospital as instructed at last meeting. This report was a lengthy one. It recommended :

“ That the whole of the flooring boards should bo removed from the original stonebuilt portion now occupied by the Resident Surgeon and the Steward, four inches of soil dug out from under the floor, three inches of concrete laid over the whole ares, and more afrgratings set in 5 also, that an intercepting drain be laid along the S.W. side of the building, BO, as,to prevent any drainage from the higher ground at the back finding its way under the building. The floors must be laid with now boards. “ That the old kitchen and outbuildings should be pulled down and new ones built, having, an upstairs floor for £he of the house servants, so as to take them away from the main building, “Tha/t the doctor’s room should be converted : into a bathroom, and that his bedroom should be upstairs, two of the servants’ rooms, whicfl aj-e yery srqMl, utilised for the purpose. “ That air pump ventilators be set in along the corridors, in the closets and their approaches, also that the closets should be provided with se'f-acting earth distributors, so the deodorizing of thong does 'not depend upon personal action.

“ Proposed additions to new building— We consider .that the present operatingroom is not/at all fit for its purpose, as the light is very bad indeed, and the room

being used also as a dispensary there is not at all sufficient room to give freedom of action. The nurses' rooms attached to the w .rda are most cheerless and badly ventilated, being lit but by skylights in a very high ceiling and by borrowed light. They are also very small. There is no outpatients’ waiting-room, doctor’s consulting room, or female patients' dining-room. These we believe to be absolutely necesary, and by reference to the plan will bo seen, in red lines, the additions we recommend.”

Reasons were set forth for the whole of the above recommendations, and an estimate was added of the probable cost,

It was decided to consider the report at a special meeting on the 24th February, when the Engineers will ne requested to be present. A copy of the rules and regulations for the management of the hospital was adopted, and the Secretary was instructed to forward a copy to the Colonial Secretary. j||Mr Talbot moved, Mr Hayes seconded, and it was carried—“ That the Waimate County Council Council be asked to furnish the Board with an account of the actual expenditure by them for the maintenance of the Waimate Hospital since December Ist last, also an estimate of the expenditure for the remainder of the period of four months, ending 31et March ; also a statement of any actual expected income for the same period,” After a careful consideration of Mr Sabiston’s position, it was, on the motion of Mr Hayes, resolved —“ That Mr Sabiston be paid the sum of 7s 6d each weekly for the three children placed under his care, and that as to the amount of £8 6s, claimed by Mr Sabiston, this Board cannot see its way to pay it, as the liability was incurred before the Board came into existence.

Mr Hayes moved, Mr Talbot seconded, and it was carried—“ That application be made to the Government for the subsidy of £IOOO due to this Board.” Several letters were read from clergymen and others bearing on Charitable Aid.

Mr March wrote stating that it was impossible to take in any more old men at the Home, Ashburton, as it was full of occupants.

Mr Hayes withdrew his motion to the effect that the Board will offer no opposition to the Waimate Hospital being carried on as a separate institution, and, accounts to the amount of £286 10a 6d having been passed for payment, the meeting terminated.