The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 1928. THE PLEA FOR COMMUNITY HOSPITALS.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 10563, 17 April 1928, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED DAILY TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 1928. THE PLEA FOR COMMUNITY HOSPITALS.

It is-quite plain that the Minister for Health is not in accord with the proposal made at the Medical Congress at Canberra that the hospitals of this Dominion, as well as those of the Commonwealth, should he linked in a community hospital system iso as to provide for all classes and make the smaller institutions subsidiary to the larger, which should become base institutions. According to Sir Louis Barnett, chairman of the New Zealand delegation, it was the strongly expressed desire of the medical .practitioners who attended the conference that they should he allowed to give their services to the sick-poor of- a community entirely gratuitously in accordance „ with the time-honored traditions of the .profession,. This ideal, he say's, could quite well he obtained by the organisation of the hospitals on the community system, under which those who are not in a position to imy their doctors would be. ,treated gratuitously, while those of the well-to-do class could he admitted in private wards and make their own arrangements as to payment with the doctors of their choice. Incidentally, as far as' the present system of hospital adminis-. tratiori is concerned,. S-ir .Louis andhis confreres ..intend to press' for; the setting .up bf an advisory , bogrd to assist Hospital Boards in making appointments both of senior ’and junior 'members Jof .their staffs. It is really not .surprising.,thjdfLlie IJon. -Young.-Has ahticipated tlie visit of a deputation to him; bv fore-warn-ing .it that , the Government will not agree to the proposed change in connection with the hospital system. No doubt, he fears —and rightly so—■l,hat any such change would give the

medical profession in every’ district far too. great' an , amount of control-, of the public hospitals. For our own part, ,>ye agree with the principle that private wards Shpuld form" part of every . public-’hospital. Wliat is essential, however, is that the con-; trol. of public hospitals ishall remain entirely in the hands of the Hospital Boards, and their staffs. As matters at present stand, the Govern-; orient and the Bbards, as well as sonve members of the medical profeission, • would appear to lean towards quite a wrong idea as to the purpose of public hospitals. Whilst the levying of local rates plays a big part in> providing public- hospitals with" funds, people well-to-do, or comparatively so, are, it would seem, expec- 1 ted to patronise private hospitals’ when incapacitated. If provision were made in . public hospitals for.' private wards, it is certain that, those institutions would gain much: more revenue. Under such a system, patients .would be permitted, iff 1 they so desired, to secure outside medical advice with the consent of the medical superintendent and, upcm payment, of course, any “extras” through- the hospital authorities. As far as can be made out, the proposal to be ‘put to the Government, however, is that patients in private wards would be under the care' of doctors of their own choice and the Boards might be deprived altogether of revenue in respect of their medical treatment!