HOSPITAL BOARDS

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 25, 30 January 1929, Page 13

HOSPITAL BOARDS

T.B. TREATMENT

COMBINED DISTRICTS

C(MTBOL OF SANATOBIA

The Executive- Committee oL' the .Hospital Boards' Association of New Zealand was held at tho end of last week those present being Messrs. William AValla&Bj- Auckland (in tlm chair), F. Castles,, Wellington.; F. Gillandcrs, Hawera; ')k. E, S. Knight, Otago; J. Ma.theson, Southland; J. 11. M' Carroll, Kaiparag the Hon W. 11. M'ln tyre, M.L.C.; .'Bulier; H. J. Otley, Canterbury.

Arrangements for the forthcoming general conference, to be held at 'Palmerston North on the 12th March, formed an important part of the. business, a considerable number of remits being received from hospital boards.

Amongtrt the matters to go before the conference will be the question of ' patients' fees and charges, a recommendation having been mado that there should bey a uniform increase in all general hospitals to 12s per day for adult patients, the; prevailing i-ate at present beving 9s. The quection of Government subsidies is also to be discussed, one remit which'is tio go before tho conference urging the revision of the present scale of subsidies so that the rates shall not depend so much on relative capital values. Oox tho other hand there is a remit that proposes 'that for the poorer" boair'ds subsidies on levies for maintenanc o purposes be increased to ;>os per &»>," the present maximum, beiug 265. ,' Another ■proposal contained •in v remit is treat the rate of subsidy on voluntary (Contributions should bo increased to 25s per £. For many years the rato wrjs 24s in. tho £„ but in the Act of 19213 tho rate was altered to 20s. ■ , ' :■•

Tho qucsision of hospital taxation geu--1 erally will doubtless receive special attention as a result-of various remits, one proposed being that the -amusement tax should be extendod,. the proceeds to be devoted to hospital xnirposes, whilst another requests the conference to consider the qmestion of taxation, for hospital purposes with a view to arriving at a meanj-i for apportioning the burden'betwewn town and country districts in proportion to tho population .served; . •- .- BEMEB S FOR CONFERENCE. The practicability of promoting a scheme- of free hospital treatment of wago-eamcius, the cost to be met by a compulsory levy on wages, is also to bo inquired into, if a remit to that effect is passed b;{r the conference. Two renxiis will go before iho conference in regard to the question of relieving hosjjital boards r.'ho have a large' proportion of natives resident within theia* district, such districts being under a special burden owing to the difficulty of collecting hospital fees and also the. difficulty in collecting rates. -An important provision vi the Hospitals Act isi. contained in section 92 which, defines; the rights of a hospital board to be reimbursed for relief granted to personis who are domiciled in other districts or who have only recently moved to the district giving the relief. At one time tho hospital board could recover the- cost of such relief from the boani of the district in which | the person had resided for a certain ■time, but with, the passing of the Act i of 1925 the., ri;slit to reimbursement applies' only as between' boards of contiguous districts. It is contended that tins limitation creates anomalies. There is a proposal to go before tho conference that the same provisions? should apply to noncontiguous districts as to contiguous districts.' Some other iimuer;; winch are the subject of remits are the question of hospital fees of. industrial and motor accident cases, medical staffing of small country hospitals,, training of inidwives, the training of nurses in administering anaesthetics, colli '.etion of hospital fees, remuneration of prisoners with dependants, hospital, b'corcl borrowing facilities. MORE UNIFORM POLICY. Further consideration was given to the question of ti ibereulosis treatment, tho executive Imv ing been directed to submit recommendations to the forthcoming conference with a view to the inauguration of vi riformly active measures against this icliseasc. It was finally unanimously agreed to submit the following recommeudations to the conference: — . • - 1. That-the'making of provision for the care and treat] went of tuberculosis cases is a proper i'unctian of hospital boards. 2 (a) That with a view to ensuring a more uniformly ac stive policy with regard to the treatment of tuberculosis and also with a vic\f to more equitably sharing the burden of the more expensive measures again;st tuberculosis, hospital boards should combine in groups, two for the S'orth Island and two for. the South Island as below indicated, for the purpose of taking over and administering tuberculosis sanatoria within the respective districts of tho combined boards.

(b) The suggested grouping of hospital boards is as fiollows: (1) Auckland Tuberculosis District: Mangamii, Whangaroa, Bay of Islands, Hokianga, Kaipara, Whangarei, Auckland, Waikato, Thames, Coromiandel, Wailii, Tauranga, Bay of Ple.'iity, Opotiki, Taumarunui.

(2) Wellington Tutbereulosis District: Matakaoa, Waiapu, Cook, Wairoa, Hawkes Bay, Waipavya, Dannevirke, Taranaki, Stratford., Hawera, Patea, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Wairarapa, Wellington, Wiidrau, Pieton, Nelson.

(3) Canterbury Taberculosia District: Westland, Buller, inangahua, Grey, North Canterbury. (4) Otago Tuberculosis District: Aahburton, South Canterbury, Waitaki, Otago, South Otago, Vincent, Maniototo, Southland, Wai lace, and Fiord. (c) The control of the tuberculosis institutions (sanatoria) within each combined district bo. vested in. a committee- constituted under Section 81 oi! the' Hospital and Charitable Institutions Act. (d) That conferences be arranged between each of tho suggested groups with a view to dctorininiug and agreeing upon the constitution, powers, and procedure of the joujifc committee, the basis of contribution, towards expenditure and other questions, but that the executive commends tho adoption of a joint scheme on similar lines to that of the Waipata scheme.