HOSPITAL BOARD

Evening Star, Issue 15481, 1 May 1914, Page 2

HOSPITAL BOARD

The fortnightly meeting of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board was held last evening, and attended by Mr- «L H. Walker (chairman),. Mrs Ferguson, Mrs Jackson. Messrs S. S. Myers, W. E. 6. Knight, W. T. Talboys, C.'N\ Scurr, F. G. Cumming. J. Cumming, W. Blackie, R. Templeton, H. M. Driver, and Dr Marshall* Maedonald.

—Correspondence.--. 4 The Secretary read a letter forward»d on behalf of the boaid to Mrs Tapper, conveying to her the sincere sympathy of membeis of the board with "her in her severe loss.

The Chairman stated that Dr Stonhousp and Mr R. M'Lean, of the Owaka Hospital Saturday Committee, had waited on nim as a deputation in reference to the construction of the proposed ambulance waggon for the Catlins district, and it had been agreed to-supply the committee with a specification before proceeding with the wotk.

The Registrar of the University wrote that at a meeting of the University Council :t wa resolved to recr rnrnend the board to appoint Miss Armstrong instructor for the ensuing year in theoretical massage. —The appointment was approved, ' , —A Protest-. Fourteen representatives of insurance companies carrying on business in Dimedin wrote recording their strong protest against the action of the board in declining to insure its property against fire or its liability under the Workers' Compensation Act with companies other thfn local companies, and pointed but that the British, insurance companies contributed in every way the same as did the local companies to the revenues of the Dominion. They felt ho hesitation in stating that the representatives and staffs of the British companies contributed as liberally to the funds of the board as did tho representatives and staffs of the local companies; id fact, as the number of the Brit'sh offices so greatly exceeded the number of th§ local offices. il;e amount they contributed wnvld gently exceed that of "the font local ihore being 29 offices carrvlng o;» business in Durtedtn. The writeis added that the Dunedin City Corporation fnsurahoes were distributed equally among all the insurance offices, and they commended this.practice to the board.—The letter wai received. —An Accusation.— Mf law, manager of the Royal*lnsurance Company, wrote:—"l rave to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 28th his.t., and note that a letter written by me to_a riiembef of the board in connection with the board's insurances was handed into committee, and from the copy of the resolution contained in your letter I note that certain members of the board considered a statement, contained Sri the letter to be an accusation against some of the board's merfibers. The statement that ha* been taken exception to is part of a sentence in which it was stated that 'thera are certain gentlemen, members of the board, who have their own partioular reasons for these insurances going to the I6cal companies.' I have no hesitation hi re peating this statement, for t" perlons who are not members of the board it must surely be apparent that as a majority 6f the board were not in favor of the. British companies receiving a share of the board's insurances thero must be certain gentlemen on the board who have their own par; ticular reasdns for this. In view of the fact that the representatives and staffs of the British companies contribute substantially to the revenues of the board, manv of them-through their rate* as wrfl as b"v private contributions, all those members who voted against the British companies sharing in the insurances must surelv have their own particular reasons for offering the insurances to four companies and the State department only, when so many other companies are entitled to consideration.

The Chairman said that Mr Law's letter was a very poor excuse for the words he had need. It was right that the member of the board tr whom the letter was addressed should have made it official, as it made reflections on certain members of the board. Mr Law had made a direct charge against every" member of the board, and'the board should be in possession of the names of the members whom he accused. The accusation was not one that should stand against any member of the hoard, and the board should demand to know the names of the members he referred to. In regard to the insurances, the board in their wisdom had carried a resolution which they considered was a right one. _ If the local offices held the whole of the insurance, they would reinsure with the other offices. After all it was only a srpftll amount each office would get, as the whole of the prcniirms on the boards buildings came to about £l6O. Personally, he thought that the letter was a reflection oh every member. Mrs Fergtrson expressed her surprise at seeing the letter published in the 'Evening Star.' Dr Macdonald thought it was a -pity that the letter had been published. There was also the letter from Mr Doocey to Dr ?hort. That was published before it came before the board.

It was agreed to again ask Mr Laxv to name the members of the board to whom he referred.

—Expenditure and Receipts.—

The following statement of the estimated ! expenditure and receipts for the year i ending March 31, 2915, was submitted : Expenditure.—lndustrial schools and homes, £4,100; Dunrdin Hop'tql, £18,500; Benevolent Institution, £5,0C0; Pleasant VaDev Sanatoriiut;, £3,500; Maternity Hospital, £900: Fever Hospital, £525; Tnapeka Hospital, £750; Kaitangata Hospital, £300; Port Chalnfere Hospital, £150; Tapanui Hospital, £500; outdoor relief, £3.500; Public Health Department, £700; University Dental School (leas fees returned). £180; grant to St. John Ambulance Association, £25; office salaries, £1,500; printing, stationery, and advertising, £l4O ; travelling expenses, £SO; stamps, telegrams, and exchanges, £80; fumish''n? new ward, £500; miscellaneous, £775: reduction of overdraft, completion of new v-ard. and contingencies, £7.333. Total. £48,808. Receipts.—Outstanding levies, £2B 18s 8d ; Government subsidy (not paid), £4,199 I -16s 6d ; Government subsidy due (bnt not j claimed), £3l 9s 2d ; outstanding rents, | £lls 15c-8d: land agents' fees, £260; venis, £525; interest, £415; maintenance, sales and sundries—Dunedm - Hospital, £4,300; Benevolent Institution, £2JQO; Pleasant Valley Sanatorium, £2,000; Maternity Hosritai, £500; Fever Hospital, £130: Tuapeka Hospital, £200; Kaitangata Hospital, £3O; Port Chalmers Hospital, £2; Tapanui Hospital, £120;" outdoor relief. £250; levies on local bodies, £33.000. Total, £45,008. Levies on Local Bodies.— The Chairman said: " In estimating the levies for -the year, it is unnecessary for ine to weary yon with details in eonriete-1 tion with the revenue and expenditure I during the past year, as no doubt you are j fully conversant with the position. The ' expenditure has increased in some depart- ■ menta, and it will be necessary to carefully watch the various ifcexßs connected therewith to enable any economy to be obtained. As the number of patients increase it is evident that the expenses will increase, and we have to face during tb* coming year the fact thai, owing to the opening of the new women's ward, our expenditure must increase. The question of the amount to be levied during the coming year required very careful consideration, and necessitated a largs smortnt of detail work, and the conclusion arrived at—viz., to levy the same amount as last year—was- finally decided an. The Act provides that a" supplementary levy may be raided If a farther amount is reqmr<ed> but I feel sure that the position will be very urgent before we_ consider the advisability of acting in this manner. Though we propose lewlng for the same amount ' as last year—viz., £15;881 14s Bd—the amount due by the various bodies will be 1 somewhat altered. The responsibility for this rests oil the Government Valuation Ttepartment, which furnishes us annually ■with ther-capital values of the rateable properties, of -tins Tsbala <4 the local bodies

6| Ute district. If the amount required to be f*i& to the board were obtained by th* VkrS&us.' districts "by a directorate, » wtoM mean'a rate on the capital vain* of approximately three-sixteenths of a fenny ifi the £--or, as an example, Is 7a per J3lGT>~a&d I feel satisfied that if the sysi*in w"4*e gradually adopted xatettayfers would much prefer it, as their contribution towards hospital and charitable aid work would be dearly defined, and a- Urge sum of money would lomain in the hands of the councils of the counties and boroughs for tle«*ea.fy WWffe." . The" levies arc at present being readjusted, and will be intimated to the next meeting. ~