THE HOSPITAL

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 140, 10 December 1935, Page 10

THE HOSPITAL

EXTENSION SCHEME

APPLICATION FOR LOAN

ADDITIONAL BEDS

A special meeting of the Wellington Hospital Board was held today to consider loan proposals in connection with the board's scheme for the extension of the general hospital. It was decided to make application tq the Local Government Loans Board for its sanction to the borrowing of approximately £155,000 for the purposes of:—

(a) Nurses' dining-room, cafeteria, and social welfare block. (b) Four-storey 100-bed block in place of the old main entrance. " (c) New residence for the superintendent, to allow demolition of old one. (d) Erection of nurses' home blocks. (c) Addition to boiler service. Formal objections to an application for a loan were lodged by the Wellington City Council and the Wellington I Ratepayers' Association, and letters were received from the Petone Borough Council and the Hutt County Council stating that they were unable to.pass comment on the building proposals until they met next. In view of these objections it is not the intention of the board to make immediate application for1 a loan; instead it was decided to invite representatives of the different contributing bodies to meet the board in conference on Monday afternoon next to discuss the whole situation. Another decision come to by the board in connection with the building proposals was to ask the honorary and stipendiary medical staffs, also the Director-General of Health and the board's architect to meet the board at a special meeting, to be arranged by the superintendent, to discuss hospital management . and buiWing improvements as introduced overseas. The board is desirous of having the benefit of the experience and opinions of doctors who recently have returned from visits : from overseas. The objection by the Wellington Ratepayers' Association was made upon the ground that ratepayers are already greatly overburdened. The present hospital rate of . levy per pound on rateable capital value. in respect of both maintenance and capital expenditure is .260 d for Auckland; for Wellington .252 d; for Otago, .363 d; for North Canterbury .223 d; and for South Canterbury .202 d. A 700-BED MAXIMUM. . The' chairman (Mr. F. Castle) said that the additional accommodation proposed would bring the hospital up to a 700-bed maximum. The board would be carrying out what was really the second instalment of the proposals made ten or eleven years ago, when the new administrative block and one block'of wards were erected, anew boiler house and stack provided, and also anew kitchen and stores block. Provision' for' an increased number of patients required an increased number of nurses,- and this was involved in the proposed extension of the nurses' home. For some-time nurses had had to live two'in a room in various parts of the building, which was inconvenient. It was essential that the nurses' home should be extended. It was proposed to carry out the extension on the site of the medical superintendent's present house, which would have to be removed. Alternatives to this proposal had been considered, but the architects advised that the site that had, been selected was the most suitable. There was also the question of the extension of the nurses' dining-room and suitable provision for the Social Welfare Department. The present nurses' diningroom was about the right size thirty years ago. He' did not think it had been extended since then. Three sittings were necessary at certain meal hours, which was most inconvenient. There was no doubt that the present nurses' dining-room was definitely too small. The proposals submitted would relieve the present congestion in this respect, and would also give improved accommodation for the Social Welfare Department, which was also badly needed. "I am satisfied," said Mr. Castle, "that, the board has given the utmost consideration to the needs of the hospital, and that the pressure on our bed accommodation is so great that we must go on with extensions. As Dr. Thorne has explained, we are definitely short of suitable bed accommodation. It is not desirable that that state of, affairs-should continue any longer." Following a suggestion by Mr. J. Glover, it was decided to receive the formal objections to the proposed loan and that before lodging a formal application to the Local Government Loans Board to invite representatives of the various contributing bodies to attend a special meeting of the board. In reply to the medical superintend dent (Dr. A. R. Thorne), Mr. Castle said he did not think this course would result in any undue delay. THE ANNUAL COST. Mr. Castle said he had asked the secretary of the board to go into the question of the annual cost of the loan proposals to each of the contributing bodies. The total annual charge based on a loan of £155,000 for a twentyyear repayment period with interest at 3J per cent, would be £10,906. Half pf that would be paid by way of Government subsidy, leaving a balance of £5453 to be borne by the local contributing bodies, and the proportion payable by them under present conditions of valuation and so on would be as follows: —Wellington City Corporation, £4232; Johnsonville Town Board, £29; Upper Hutt Brough Council, £65; Petone • Borough Council. £ 252; Hutt County Council, £296; Makara County Council, £104; Lower Hutt Borough Council, £415; Eastbourne, £60. Mr. Castle said he thought it was desirable that these, figures should be made known.

The board.passed on to deal with the question of whether, in view of the intention to provide additional accommodation, it was desirable that Dr. Thorne should go to Australia with the board's • architect early in the New Year to inspect new hospitals. This topic is dealt with under separate headings. • •