HOSPITAL NEEDS GROWING IN NEW ZEALAND

Grey River Argus, 12 October 1949, Page 4

HOSPITAL NEEDS GROWING IN NEW ZEALAND

P.A. WELLINGTON, October 11. The House to-night discussed the health estimates. Mr E. P. Aderman (Nat. New Plymouth) said he estimated that £16,892,345 was tc be spent this year on health —that was including the Social Security charges, which amounted tc£9 7s per head of the population. With the levy on local bodies and additional money paid by patients for treatment, the expenditure would be £ll per head. There was a grave staff shortage in practically every one of the 11 divisions of the Healtn Department. The number of hospital beds, he said, had increased to 16,416, or 9.2 per thousand of population. One thousand beds were closed because oi staff shortages. It was pitiful to real the report of the Mental Hygiene division. A great deal of dislocation had occurred because the type ol accommodation required at hospital? could not be made available. He understood the Minister had already given authority for new buildings to cost £23,000,000 pounds. What was the prospect of having those buildings erected? He predicted that by the time urgent priorities had been met, from 80 to 90 per cent, of the existing buildings would be out of date. On the other side of the picture many people, 6500 in the four main cities, according to a recent report, were awaiting admission to hospitals for surgical treatment. They had Lttle prospect of admission for some time to come. Mr W. T. Anderton (Govt. Auckland Central) said our present hospital system was not the best we could create. There was need for improvement, for reorganisation and reorientation. He was alarmed at the amount of hospitalisation which took place in cases where other institutional care would be preferable. Mr Anderton suggested that the examination standards for nurses might be relaxed in certain respects, and said the present system of hospital boards was too unwieldy, and the present health districts too large. Mrs H. 'Ross (Nat. Hamilton) said she would like to see overtime rates for nurses put more in keeping with those paid to other workers. Mr M. H. Oram (Nat. Manawatu) said that hospital boards were not allowed to pay overtime to nurses without the consent of the Minister. Such a condition compared very unfavourably with conditions in other awards. The method of calculating overtime for nurses was unfair and unjust in comparison with other walks of life. Hon. Miss M. B. Howard, replying to Mr Aderman, said that it was not correct to say that authority had been' given for new buildings to cost £23,000,000. That was the amount envisaged. A total of £12,000.000 had been authorised to date. The Minister said that no urgent surgical case would ever be turned away from a hospital. The department was doing its best to recruit nurses for the hospitals mental hospitals. Some doctors would arrive in New Zealand soon from England for the mental hospitals. Miss Howard said that the basis of payment for the nurses overtime was exactly what the Nurses’ Association had asked for. If the nurses however, had any other proposition to make, it would receive consideration. The vote was passed.