H.—3la.

ill Greymouth. Tlie main industry is that of coal-mining, and a large percentage of the population, outside the Town of Greymouth, is engaged on this work. Greymouth. The only maternity hospital facilities in the district are those provided by the " Rewa " Hospital in Greymouth, which is owned and conducted by the Board. It is a ten-bedded hospital, but is not sufficiently large for the requirements of the district, and is often overcrowded. There is, however, a new maternity ward under course of erection at the public hospital, and this will replace the " Rewa " Hospital. Twenty beds are being provided. The present hospital is open to the medical practitioners of the district, but whereas at the present time there is no Medical Superintendent at " Eewa," when the new annexe is built the Board intends appointing a resident Medical Officer to supervise the maternity work. The fees charged are £4 4s. per week, in addition to a doctor's fee of £4 4s. when he attends the confinement. A local doctor is called in if a " no-doctor" case presents any abnormality, and if the patient is indigent the doctor receives no fee. The domiciliary work is done by a fully trained midwife and two Class C midwives. There are no private hospitals in the district. There is no ante-natal clinic conducted at the present hospital, and all the medical men supervise the ante-natal treatment of their own patients. Runanga. This is a mining village eight miles from Greymouth. There is a Medical Association with a membership of six hundred, the members of which are entitled to a maternity benefit of £6 paid from the National Provident Fund to members of all friendly societies. Half the maternity fees are also paid by the association. There are two elderly untrained women who take in patients. About 50 per cent, of the women go to Rewa Maternity Home, and it is probable that when the new hospital is built the majority of women will prefer to go into Greymouth rather than have domiciliary confinements at Runanga. There are several families at Rewanui, where the Liverpool Mine is situated. Access to the township is difficult, and it cannot be reached by vehicles. The Medical Association pays £5 towards the transport of patients to hospital at Greymouth. Brunnerton-Blackball. Brunnerton is another mining village eight miles from Greymouth. The present position in this district is that there is a resident doctor subsidized by a Medical Association, but no maternity hospital or registered midwife, and the homes are unsuitable for confinements. The majority of the women are confined in Rewa Hospital at Greymouth. Recommendations. The Committee is of the opinion that with a modern maternity annexe at Greymouth the district will be well served. The decision to have the maternity hospital under the charge of a responsible Medical Officer with maternity experience is endorsed, and it is recommended that the annexe be open to the medical practitioners of the town as at present. The question of providing local facilities at Runanga and Brunnerton is rather a difficult one to decide, but the Committee considers that, with a fully equipped hospital at Greymouth, the tendency will in any case be for that institution to be preferred. It is therefore not regarded as necessary to make local provision in these instances. 38. WESTLAND HOSPITAL BOARD. The area served by this Board includes the town of Hokitika and a long, narrow stretch of country between the Southern Alps and the west coast approximately twenty miles wide and two hundred miles in length. A good road runs down from Hokitika as far as Weheka, the settlement at the foot of the Fox Glacier, whilst there is much public-works activity south of this point, building roads and bridges, which will finally connect up with the road from Otago. The population is sparse, being 9,194 for the whole district, 2,689 of whom live in Hokitika, situated towards the northern boundary of the district. This popuation shows an increase of 2074 per cent, over that of 1926. The main industry is that of timber-felling and sawmilling, whilst some golddredging is also carried on. In addition to Hokitika, the main settlements are Kumara (500), Ross (400), and Wataroa (350), whilst south of Weheka is a large public-works camp at Bruce Bay, to which frequently the only access is by air or sea. 4*

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