Board launches plans to fund cardiac unit

Press, 21 July 1988, Page 16

Board launches plans to fund cardiac unit

The Canterbury Hospital Board’s finance committee yesterday launched the first financial moves towards the establishment of a cardiac surgical unit in Christchurch.

Ten days after a board deputation met the Minister of Health, the committee has recommended that the board’s land holdings committee should examine the sale of board properties to help the capital funding for the new $2.5 million unit at the Princess Margaret Hospital. An existing cardiac surgical trust fund could be used to accommodate finances. The trust fund contains $2OOO — “but mighty oaks grow from small acorns,” a committee member said yesterday. .

While the Government has agreed to provide the maintenance costs for the unit, the board most raise the capital for the initial establishment cost.

The board’s chairman, Mr Tom Grigg, yesterday

said that a trust fund should be used for capital fund donations. “There will be different ways of raising the money, but I would suggest that the board should not advertise a major fund raising drive at this stage. Government funding has not been ruled out,” he said. Mr David Close suggested that the proposed property sales could be combined with public donations.

“Perhaps we should consider asking the public to give money towards some specific item of equipment in the unit. I do not think that we should ask for donations towards some vague proportion of the $2.5 million but we could focus attention on one particular aspect of the project.”

The committee’s chairman, Mr David Lawrence, said that there was no reason why a public fundraising campaign should not become part of the funding for the new unit. “I take Mr Close’s point but not until such time as we have received details of the particular items of equipment required. Meanwhile, this committee can start the machinery before detailed plans can be examined,’’ he said.

The finance committee also examined the level of future Government funding for the board but was told that the question remained academic until the contents of the 1988 Budget were revealed next week. "What the board is entitled to and what it receives is a matter of con-

jecture,” Mr Lawrence said.

The board believes that it should receive $260 million from the Department of Health this year — a figure based on its last annual allocation and the rate of inflation.

If increased budget assistance was not made available, the board would be forced to consider “drastic pruning” of hospital services to allow the board to remain within budget, said the acting general manager, Mr Ron Parker.

According to financial estimates, it is already $1.5 million over budget for the first three months of the financial year. “The Health Department has warned the Hospital Boards Association that the news might not be good,” Mr Grigg said.