HOSPITAL RATING.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 248, 1 August 1941, Page 4

HOSPITAL RATING.

DOMINION CONFERENCE SOUGHT. (COUNTY COUNCIL DISCUSSION. After a long discussion on hospital affairs and the hospital rating system, some of it in committee, the Ashburton County Council this morning decided to take steps to have a Dominion conference of interested bodies hold at Wellington to discuss rating. The Ashburton Hospital Board, replying to the Council s request than the proposed building of a maternity homo should be held up lor at least 12 months, wrote forwarding answers to questions put to the Board through tnu ‘•Guardian,” an extract from the Hospital Commission’s report on Malveril Home, and a report by the Matron of the home. The Board asked that these documents, which had influenced the Board in its decision to build, should be treated as confidential. The enclosures were discussed in committee. Later jft was announced that the Council thanked tiie Board for the information supplied, and that the Council had decided to suggest tof the' Board that the building of the maternity home should be deferred pending a decision by the Government in regard to' a change in the hospital rating system. Mr Turtori said that now was tne time to act on the question and he advocated calling a conference of all County Councils in the South Island. Mr Carr said the longer action was deferred, the longer a solution of the difficulty would be in arriving. It was decided to request the Counties Association to call a meeting of representatives of interested bodies in Wellington to discuss the question. On the question of hospital levies, the SVorks Committee reported that the chairman had drawn attention to the problem of hospital levies, which indicated the general dissatisfaction of local bodies. The committee agreed that an alteration of the incidence of rating for this purpose was overdue because of the Social Security legislation, and decided to press the Counties Association and ascertain what steps it had taken in conjunction with the Municipal Association m an endeavour to obtain relief from this taxation.