BASE HOSPITALS

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 17, 20 July 1921, Page 4

BASE HOSPITALS

Medical science has made great advances within the last half-cen-tury: so great that the general practitioner is being augmented by the specialist. In keeping with the growth of specialist practice there must be special hospitals —or special branches in hospitals. With our present system of hospital establishment and maintenance, partly by local contributions, partly by State subsidies, the cost of such special branches is not fairly distributed. The larger centres have already provided many special branches, but they have had no assistance from other districts in meeting the cost, though residents outside the centres have shared in the benefit directly or indirectly. A system so obviously inequitable must sooner, or later hamper hospital development, for ratepayers cannot be expected to take a charitable view of their duty to their neighbours if their neighbours are quite able to do the duty themselves. Wei'e no change made in the system local objections to taxation for special branches rendering general service would lead in the end to a reduction of those special activities or a limitation of the benefits, with, perhaps, the wasteful duplication in minor districts of special facilities already provided in the centres. To avoid this, two methods are available: (1) that the special branches shall be maintained wholly by the State; (2) that the outside districts shall contribute to the special branches in ■the centres. The first method would be liable to create administrative difficulties, with clashing or overlapping of State and locally-gov-erned enterprises. The second might be resisted by the local authorities who no.w make' no contribution to special wards. Perhaps with a view to overcoming this latter possibility the Hospital Commission has recommended that l-20th of the State subsidy shall be allocated to the hospitals in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin for the purpose of developing and extending their special departments. The 6utside districts will thus contribute a portion of their subsidy before actually receiving it. Whether l-20th will prove a sufficient subsidy it is hardly possible to judge, but the system is well-considered, and, in its essence, equitable. If necessary, the proportion of the subsidy may be adjusted in the light of experience.