NEW HOSPITAL DELAYED

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28607, 9 June 1958, Page 12

NEW HOSPITAL DELAYED

Import Licences For Equipment

A joint deputation from the North Canterbury Hospital Board and local members of Parliament is to wait on the Minister of Customs (Mr Boord), Customs Department heads and officials of other Government departments to urge that import licences for equipment valued at £50,000 be granted so that the Cashmere Hospital can be completed. The completion of the hospital is being delayed because of the lack of this equipment. Licences for £50.000 will enable the contractor to purchase equipment to finish his part of the job; but. after that, the board will have to buy about £lOO.OOO worth of equipment and instruments to fit out the various departments. Import licences will also be needed for technical equipment. This was stated by the chairman of the board (Dr L. C. L. Averill), the secretary (Mr J. G. Laurenson), the architect (Mr A. H Manson) and the contractor ‘Mr C. S. Luney), to a local member of Parliament who inspected the hospital on Saturday. The suggestion for the deputation was made by the Minister of Transport (Mr Mathison). Dr. Averill was most emphatic that he did not want the board to make a political issue of the matter. The issue had been raised purely for humanitarian reasons as there was a waiting list of 2800 people for the hospital. Previously. the board had to deal with the Department of Health: but now it had to deal with the Customs Department and the Department of Industries and Comrherce. The wards could not be opened until the equipment was installed. Equipment for Kitchen* No work had been done in the kitchen for more than two years because equipment was not available for installation, said Mr Luney. This meant other work was delayed in the kitchen because the tile floor could not be put down. Some of the equipment wanted by the board were samples which could be copied by local manufacturers once they came into the country, Mr Manson said. Individually, the items .did not represent a great deal of money Dr. Averill said last evening that the board had been trying for some time to get authority to order two lifts. There were no lifts for the nurses’ home which had six floors. A licence had .been applied for in January but permission had not been granted Public tenders had been called, and accepted, for the lifts but things were at a standstill. When permission was granted there would still be a delay while the lifts were shipped from England “Another two lifts are definitely necessary for the functioning of the 260-bed hospital in which £2J million of public money is invested,” said Dr. Averill.

Licences for kitchen equipment from the United States have been refused and applications have been made for other equipment from the United Kingdom, the United States and Sweden but no decision on these has been communicated to the board.

Among those present at the inspection were Messrs R. M. Macfarlane. J. K. McAlpine, N E. Kirk, and N. G. Pickering and a number of members of the board.