S.C. HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE AID BOARD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2648, 19 April 1894, Page 4

S.C. HOSPITAL AND CHARITABLE AID BOARD.

The monthly meeting of the South Canterbury Hospital and Charitable Aid Board was held on Tuesday. Present Messrs W. M. Moore (in the chair), Gillingham, Hill, White, Rhodes, and Coltmau.

The house steward, Mr T. Jowaey, presented the annual returns and a short report;—During the year ended March 31st the medical staff made an aggregate of 1425 visits, an average of four per day ; 2289 prescriptions were ordered, an average for each patient of7j. To 162 out-patients 571 prescriptions were dispensed. 59 patients paid all or part of their maintenance, 248 paid nothing; no money was received from out-patients. During the year the Queen street boundary wall had been built and a shelter shed erected; valuable surgical instruments had been bought, and the hospital restocked with blankets, and many minor improvements had been carried out.

The chairman drew attention to some points in the annual returns. The number of patients treated, 307, was larger than ever before. The payments made by the patients was nearly double what it was last year, £IOB. The average days’ stay was leas—26 days compared with 32, The average cost per day on the total expenditure was 4s 7§d per patient per day; deducting cost of buildings, 4a 3d; deducting also patients’ payments, 4s 2£d per day. The secretary reported that the payments for the day, £4lO 9s 9d, would reduce the bank balance to £554 17s Bd. A statement was received from the Waimate Hospital Board of their requirements for the current year, and asking for a cheque for half the amount. They estimated their requirements for the year at £IOOO ; they estimated that they would receive from subscriptions £l3, subsidy thereon £ls 12s, patients’ payments £4O; total receipts, £6B 12s, leaving £931 8s to be requisitioned from the South Canterbury Board. The payment was held over till next month.

Replies were received from the large hospitals as to the practice regarding isolation of cases of abdominal operations, the medical staff having asked for the erection of an isolated ward. Wellington has separate wards off the main wards for such cases. Dunedin the same; formerly an isolated ward was used; but it was not deemed suitable; the patients were kept in the by-wards till convalescent. These rooms are suitable for the isolation of the cases. Christchurch has isolated rooms, but the cases are treated in the general ward, as the patients are more cheerful there. The strictest antiseptic treatment is followed, and a septic patient is not placed near the case, and any nurse attending a septic patient is kept from the case. The present medical officer reported that he had treated 20 abdominal operations in the general ward, and had had no case of septiceemia. Auckland has a special ward for abdominal operations and other critical cases.—lt was resolved on the motion of Messrs Gillingham and Rhodes—“ That having received information from the chief hospitals of the colony, showing that it was not customary to treat cases of abdominal operations in detached wards, this board is of opinion that a special isolated ward in such cases does not appear to be a pressing necessity at present.” A note was read in the complaint book by Dr Hogg that a patient had been allowed to leave the hospital to go into town, and he came back and greatly disturbed the ward. It was a bad practice to allow patients out of the hospital grounds and should not be permitted if it could be avoided. Nurse Galloway also complained of another patient who had been given permission to go to town and returned drunk and disturbed the other patients. Both men were dismissed next day after their behaviour.—lt was found that there was no rule about giving leave to patients. It was decided to call the attention of the medical staff to the complaints, and ask them to be careful about giving leave to their patients. Dr Lovegrove waited on the board with reference to the board’s demand for some sort of authority for prescriptions dispensed to charitable aid patients at the druggists. A difficulty arose through prescriptions being sent by telephone. After hearing the doctor the board decided that the members of the staff should initial the druggists’ accounts in such cases. An old tradesman of Timaru waited on the board to ask for a ticket Home for himself, wife, and adopted child. The applicant stated that he was now “ in the seventies ” and his wife 68 and an invalid. If they could get Home his wife’s friends would take care of them. He had been 20 years in Timaru and South Canterbury, and had always led a respectable life.— The board directed the secretary to make inquiries as to the cost of passages and report at next meeting. An application that the board pay the expenses of a legal adoption of a child was granted. Mention was made of an old man named David Fqrbes, said to be nearly 100 years old, and now going about the Geraldine district with a swag, who had been recommended to go to the barracks, but had not turned up there.

It was decided to send a wife and seven children, now at Geraldine, up to Hawke’s Bay, the husband and father being there. In another Geraldine case it was agreed to pay a deserted family’s back rent for a few weeks, and supply rations until the husband is beard from.

An application for rations from Waimate from an old man of 72 with a young family of seven was granted. The question of proceeding with the erection of closets at the barracks was postponed on the understanding that the Borough Council were willing to reconsider their refusal to allow water closets to be used.

The secretary stated that he had been asked by certain persons to seek the board’s sanction to a concert being arranged to raise funds to add to the comforts of the barracks. —The application was grapfaff, and the chairman said the board would ba glad to receive more offers of the same kind.

Hospital accounts for £216 14s sd, aud charitable accounts for £163 15s 5d were passed for payment.