Geriatric scheme changes ‘welcome’

Press, 2 April 1980, Page 19

Geriatric scheme changes ‘welcome’

PA Wellington Recommended changes to the geriatric hospital special assistance scheme were both positive and welcome, said the president of the Private Hospitals’ Association (Mr E. Whittleston). The recommendations were made by the special committee which reviewed the scheme. Its report was released last week. “We are especially pleased that the committee has recommended the abolition of the area limits on subsidy payments and the 80 per cent limitation on bed numbers which, may be used,” said Mr Whittleston.

“These are changes which our association advocated and it is pleasing that the review committee recognised the arbitrary nature of these limitations.” Mr Whittleston said his association would also

support the proposed procedure for reviewing private hospital fees. He said the proposal for bed usage limitation based on the Health Department bed guidelines appeared workable, but if there was a reservation it would be in respect of the patient assessment recommendations. “We fully support the need for assessment of patients who are to receive the subsidy,” Mr Whittleston said. “However, the proposal that assessments be done within public hospital assessment and rehabilitation units except in urgent cases, may prove too inflexible. “In addition we are concerned that if patients are in some instances required to move from private hospitals to assessment centres and back again, the patients will suffer from the disruptive moves.”