Board promised finance for Hamner hospital

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32873, 23 March 1972, Page 10

Board promised finance for Hamner hospital

The Health Department is prepared to continue to provide finance for the Queen Mary Hospital at Hanmer Springs at the present level if the North Canterbury Hospital Board is satisfied, after a survey, that it can take over the administration of the hospital. The board was told this yesterday in a letter from the

department. Last month the board agreed to write to the department offering to take over the running of the hospital, subject to a prior survey being carried out and to satisfactory finance arrangements being made. Yesterday a letter from the Deputy DirectorGeneral of Health (Dr G. Blake-Palmer) was read in which he said that the offer to administer the hospital could be discussed as soon as the. board completed the survey it wished to make. , ' Dr Blake-Palmer said that the department agreed to the board’s making the survey and would provide any

practicible assistance. The co-operation of the hospital was also assured. The cost of running Queen Mary Hospital was very much higher than that of any other hospital administered by the Division of Mental Health, said Dr Blake-Palmer. Nevertheless the department was prepared to continue to provide finance at the present level if the board, after the completion of its survey, was satisfied that it would be able to take over the administration and continue to provide an adequate professional staff coverage. Ministerial visit

Dr Blake-Palmer said that Minister of Health (Mr Adams-Schneider) hoped that he would be able to visit Hanmer Springs, but it was

unlikely that a date for such a visit could be given within the next month.

Referring to other matters in the board’s letter. Dr Blake-Palmer said that the Government had on many occasions made it clear that it would welcome local intiative in the rebuilding and management of the thermal baths, but that no financial assistance for any such project could be provided from his department. The board’s secretary (Mr J. G. Laurenson) said that the offer of the present level of finance was as much as could be expected and the next step was to decide how the survey could be done.

He said that the heads of the medical, nursing, and administrative staffs would have to look at their particular departments. Mrs L. G. Gardiner, who led the move last month to have the board take the initiative in the matter, said she was very pleased with the reply from Dr BlakePalmer and was relieved to hear about the provision for finance. Several other board members also expressed their appreciation of the letter.