SEPARATE HOSPITAL DISTRICT

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 74, 21 December 1937, Page 7

SEPARATE HOSPITAL DISTRICT

Danger Suggested In

Petition

A danger if the present hospital building proposals are carried out of endeavours being made by local bodies outside Wellington city to form a separate hospital district that their residents may obtain more prompt and less costly service is referred to in a petition for presentation to the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Al. J. Savage, which is now being circulated for signature. It was before the Upper Hutt Borough Council last night, and reads :■ —

“We, the undersigned representing the city of Wellington, the boroughs of Eastbourne, Lower Hutt, Petone, and Upper Hutt the counties ot' Hutt and Alakara, and the Johnsonville Town Board pray that the Local Government Loans Board shall be directed to re-examine the Wellington Hospital Board's building proposals for which sanction has been given, particularly with a view to ascertaining the comparative costs of building additions on the present hospital site against the building of an auxiliary hospital, say, in the Hutt Valley. The following reasons are submitted in favour of auxiliary hospital proposals: — “CD The limitation of the present site necessitates the erection of multi-stoned buildings of costly construction,, while equal accommodation can be provided in single or two-storied erections on fiat land at considerably less cost. "(2) Of the eight contributing local authorities in the Wellington hospital district none is in favour of the board s proposals and all have forwarded protests to the loans board and the representatives of those local authorities on the hospital board are against the proposals except th’ose representing Wellington city. “(3) At a conference of the local authorities and hospital board members a Premise was made that the delegates would be supplied with estimates of the costs of the two schemes referred to in paragraph one, but this promise has not been fulfilled. “(4) If the present proposals are carried out there is a danger of endeavours being made to form a separate hospital district in order that the residents of the areas other than Wellington city may. obtain more prompt and less costly service.

The petition was accompanied by the following letter from the town clerk of Lower Hutt:—“l am directed by his worship the mayor to enclose for your information a copy of a petition which it is proposed to circulate immediately for signature by residents of the various districts concerned. I am therefore, to ask that you submit the draft petition for your mayor’s approval or otherwise and advise me immediately of his approval or otherwise to the proposals. This matter is one of urgency, and as soon as the various approvals are obtained documents have to be printed and circulated, which I desire to do, and obtain as many signatures as possible before the Christmas vacation.” The Wellington Ratepayers’ Association also wrote asking for support of the following resolution passed at a public meeting it convened : — "That this meeting calls upon the Wellington City Council as the main contributory and representing the ratepayers of Wellington to appoint a committee consisting of the mayor and/or chairman of contributory local bodies and two members of its own engineering staff together with two independent architects and the chairman of the Wellington Ratepayers’ Association, to investigate the possible cost of any needed, improvements at the Wellington Hospital, and to report upon the proposal of a new hospital in the Hutt Valley.” The mayor, Mr. A. J. AlcCurdy, coked if there were any information as to who authorised the petition. The accompanying letter w-as signed by the town clerk of Lower Hutt said the town clerk, Air. B. S. Wilmshurst. “It does not say he was directed by the Lower Hutt Council,” said the mayor. Cr. F. P. Keys: That is the point. Councillors may have seen the remarks of the mayor of Petone on the matter. The mayor: As far as I am concerned the answer is “or otherwise.” Cr. F. Castle said the council had already supported the protest made on behalf of the contributing bodies and that was as far as it need go. Personally he saw no objection to suuporting the Wellington Ratepayers’ Association’s public meeting protest. The letter forwarding the petition had apparently not been formally approved by the Lower Hutt council. He moved the association’s protest be supported and the petition be held over until approved by the Lower Hutt council. Later Cr. Castle withdrew his motion, stating that the Wellington City Council was adopting another course, that of awaiting a report of the Health Department. He moved that no action be taken until later. This was agreed to.