The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 1888. The Responsibilities of County Hospitals.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2986, 25 August 1888, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. SATURDAY, AUGUST 25, 1888. The Responsibilities of County Hospitals.

Yesterday a destitute wayfarer, sufforingfroui an, attack of partial blindness, a jiriost'pitiable being, with oue 'sightless eye, anil the other all but uspless, krioolied at tjgor of the Masterton Hospital', arid was dinsotei} tp grip bis way info .town, and there obtain the necessary certificate for his admission, Tlip auffeper applied to atitlioj'itigs jn {lie tqiyji, 'but was refused admission, aj|d lopqimppiiflpd .totrythe Benevolent Society. This Cliftiniian of the Mevoleiit being applied to considered the case to bo one which ought to liftvo lippp piniptly. rejioved by the : Hospital l'tuat, but nevertheless at once arranged for the accommodation of the unhappy stranger jn ft pjiyate boarding lipuse, Wo )im in Mflstopton at the present time a oommodious and well-equipped.. Hospital,,, with salaried medical officer, custodian, aiul assistants, aiid at'tbis institution ftlwjit four-fifths of the- beds are rereported tq be empty. :-Rom enquiries p l;avo pude, m find that out of '?|pf beds o|)iy. i three op fop ata now in OnP fPfild thjilt that wiieu a man dead from exhaustion and oxposuve,' and three part? blind, begged, admission to an institution like this, where overytliing jjpcessary forliia t . comfort and ,relief m C' i W%/#d ' pitingf. lie would; not bo moved on to a Penevoleut Society which oqi) i|}desd ,jifid|liim/food jor;Bheltk l ,jbutrwlii'oli '(jatiiwt provide limwjtli {li^'iii^jcal

attention which he needs, the nursing .requires, and the quiet room, whioh in a'tese of optical infirmity is ; iis bo palpable a desideratim. \Ve can' .quife the rejection of tMa'partipular case, and possibly of a score; more "of a : kindred charactei'is entirely in conformity with the rules for pie admission of patients to the institution, and if sncli be the case wo would contend that tho hospital.regulations require':' tb be reconsidered. Time waswhen the Masterton Hospital was; a voluntary institution maintained by voluntary,., contributions for special classes of cases, and amenable only to the will of its subscribers. 'Thentit coiild if. it thought proper label '-its portal " no admission here except for, compound fractures," and turn'away '' all oases which did not como within the scope of its charter. Since, }hppver, oiir'very undesirable poor law was . passed, the position of; .the : hospital; has rbeeiv • r materially altered.' It now has at its back'a drastic enactment which enables it to: collect money' from the public voluntarily; if people choose so to' pay; but if people are unwilliug then irate can be levied which will compel pay-, ment, .The major portion of tho money ; which , maintains the hospital comes direct from the Government, and to all.practical- intents and purposes the hospital is a' county hospital which must to the extent of its accommodation provide for all classes, of accidents and .sickness within : the;,"district of Wairarapa North which demand relieif.- The particular caso to which wo have drawn ; attention is dependent upon public assistance, and it would be nonsensical to assume that such aid could be more economically,and efficiently given through 'life. Benevo-. lent Society than by the hospital. We are 1 well aware' that.tho Masterton Hospital has frequently and deservedly been quoted as a model institution, and few have a higher appreciation of its management than we have, but it is evident theie are weak points in its administration,. and that its trustees do not quite grasp the responsibilities which the new poor law.,has placed upon their shoulders. If the Trustees, claim the- right to. exclude,cases like the one to which'we, draw attention, we would be glad to be informed what is to become of such unfortunate sufferers. The man to whom we have, called/attention is .noW an inmate of Mr Wright's Railway Boarding House, and anyone who takes an interest in the question as to whether lie ought to be in the hospital can interview him there and form their own conclusions. Do the Trustees desiro such a case to be forwarded to the Wellington hospital, or would they content themselves by simply ignoring the existence of disagreeable would-be patients and let them die, rot, or go blind, .in any hole into which they can creep ? We do not for oue moinent suppose that the Trustees would take such an inhuman standpoint, or that tlioy desire to banish the sick and afflicted into private boarding houses, or relegate their functions for the relief of: unfortunate sufferers from disease to Benevolent Societies. Nevertheless, at the present time the local Benevolent Trust has several oases of sickness on hand, and has to pay lodging money for them at private establishments while there is a formidable array of empty beds at the hospital. The inexpediency of such arrangements from an economic atandpoint is obvious, and we trust the Hospital Trustees will reconsider their regulations for dealing with applicants for relief, so that cases which in common fairness devolve upon them should be punctually and promptly relieved.