THE HOSPITALS BILL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 150, 19 March 1908, Page 8

THE HOSPITALS BILL.

PROPOSED REDUCTION OF SUBSIDIES. OBJECTIONS OF LOCAL BODIES. Tho Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Bill, which has been circulated by the Government, and is to .be tho subject of a conference of delegates from Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards, was briefly discussed at two meetings iii Wellington yesterday. At the meeting of the Wellington' Hospital Board, held in the moriiing, Mr. F. T. Moore brought forward two objections to the Bill. In tho first place, lie thought the Board should v recommend the conference of 'Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards to ask for the deletion of Sub-Sections 2 and 3 of Section 31, which were designed to reduce the. subsidies payable by the Government. He moved accordingly. .Tho-!present rates of subsidy aris.:— (a) 10s. for every £1 of bequests, but exceed £500 in respect of any one bequest. {jj in the £1 on voluntary contributions. , (c) £1 for £1 on contributions from local authorities. • 7 ' . ■ Tho new sub-clauses propose to reduce, (b) to £1 for £1. for the second period-.of tlypo years after tho passing of the Act and 15s. for ovory £1. thereafter; and to reduce (c) to 15s. for £1 for the • second three-year period, and 10s. for £1 thereafter. The Chairman said the Board should offer the strongest opposition to these proposals. The motion was carried.

LIABILITY OF HARBOUR BOARDS. Mr. Moore also moved for the addition of Harbour Boards to tho list of contributing bodies in regard to hospitals. Ho pointed out that casos of accidents on wharves and cases from oversea came to the hospitals for treatment. The Chairman said the. city already had to 'pay rates, ■ and thus tho cases of accidents on the wharves were covi'ied, and Mr. Moore's proposal would be making tho city pay twice over. . . Mr. Moore pointed out that this did not affect tho cases of crews arid passengers. •The Chairman said that-tho Hospital Trustees received payment -from tho shipping companies in such cases. Mr. Kirk said the Hospital Trustees had allroady asked for' statutory power making tho Harbour Board responsible to hospital governing bodies for actual cases of accident arising out of operations connected with wharves and shipping. He would second tho motion if it wero amended in this sense.

Tito motion was'amended accordingly and carried. ■•■■■■.

The Chairman mentioned that lie intended to tako a 1,-iter opportunity of ' moving against the proposal to' grant a salary of £200 a year to chairmen of' Hospital Boards.

VIEWS OF THE CHARITABLE AID , BOARD. ■ . ' ( : ■ QUESTION OF LOCAL CONTROL. Tlio matter came up again at tho mooting of the Wellington and Wairarapa Charitable Aid Board in the afternoon. ■ ' ' •Mr. W. C. Buchanan said that " the Governor ; appeared in clause after clause of the Bill, even more frequently than had been usual in rccont legislation. Men of independent minds would, decline to serve on Boards whero the Government might step,in at every turn ivith the all-powerful argument, that if its' wishes , were riot complied with, tho subsidy would 1 .be. withheld." Another fault in the' Bill was that tho_ ratepayers were given no, voice in the defining of districts. Wairarapa was to be coupled up with Wellington, whereas they wanted local distribution of local charitable aid, so .that those responsiblo woiild know the 'people to whom they were giving relief. He had known of Wairarapa people 'coming to .Wellington and getting aid, to which,they had not the' ghost of a right. Ho did'not seo why the Wairarapa should not have local admimstra-, tioii when thero was to-bo 'local adminis-tration-in the! Auckland district. ■,

■;Thb,Chairman" (Mr. R. o.' Kirk), said:,that; the present districts would not bo much- altered by tho Bill. He .thought tho - most objectionable feature was '.tho proposal for reducing the Government subsidies; Mr. Buchanan said he was coming to that. With tho" annually-recurring surpluses, tho Consolidated Fund could not, bo in distress, and lie would strongly protest against- the" proposed reduction of the subsidies.

- TROUBLE AHEAD. -. Mr. Hogg protested- against the' inclusion of the Wairarapa in tli'o same hospital dis-' trict.as the City of .Wellington. This had long been a grievance'in connection with charitable aid, but thero wero members in the House who would sit up night and .day rather than let the same defect ,bq extended to -''hospital matters. ' . ■ /

Mr. Buchanan said tho:.Bill was a Departmental! Bill, and those -who concjcted it did not realise the changes that had ta'ken place in the country. ~. '. : --'"i :

Mr. Hogg, while eulogising the "Wellington Hospital, insisted that the" country districts wore able to run their own hospitals. The Chairman said ho considered the Histricts wero too small: He thought-it would be more just in regard to contribution and expenditure if the whoje hospital and charitable aid revenue from the Dominion . wero pooled, . and . tho .-distribution entrusted to honorary' local bodies.. •

Mr. Buchanan asked, if ' the Chairman would apply the: same principle to' public works F ' "

The Chairman said icharitable expenditure was qujte a different thing.Tho result of tho present subdivisions' was that ' the people of some-.' districts, paid at' a much higher rate than- others for charitablo aid and hospital maintenance. Mr. liogg pointed out that the Palnierston district was to .be soparato, but the '.Wairarapa was-to be included in Wellington. ■ The Chairman said the scheme of tho Bill was to ljavo largo districts \ with Boards which' would comprise the chairmen of tho bodies, controlling the-several institutions. The' Chairman' and Mr. Hogg were appointed .delegates, to the Conference, and tho executive was given power to appoint other delegates if the, Board was found-to be en-, titled to moro than two. ' '

In reference to the'matter, of accidents on 'tho wharf,- tlio chairman of the Harbour. ! Board, ; (Mr. --T; M; '• Wilf-ord, M.l 5 .), when :,V interviewed 'by a .representative of The Dominion;: said.that .'the position' as: far as tho accident fund of: the Harbour Board was concerned was that tho Board insured the employees and received from tho. Insurance. Company- tho amount of money that was payable to any worker- in tho event of accident. This tho Board paid to tlio worker, and they also gavo'the latter more tlian most other employers, in. that they not only paid tho amount received from tho insuranco company"but also for.thb first , week, of tho accident. / This was not tho usual- practice." ■In regard'to ' accidents on the wharf this year a return showed that they had been about tho'same as' previous years. The chief accidents to tho Board's employees occurred to foot and hands.'Tho only two mishaps out of'tlio ordinary this year were to one man's leg an dto another's groin. <-' Beyond • thoso, ■ however, tho average has been about the same. . .. '