HOSPITAL COSTS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 9 June 1932, Page 5

HOSPITAL COSTS.

NEW ZEALAND COMPARES WELL PROPORTION OF BEDS EXCEEDED IN DENMARK. EXPANSES HIGHER IN CANADA AND VICTORIA. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. “Prom, time to time loose criticisms are levelled against the New Zealand hospital system, the most common being that we have made a serious mistake in; departing from the traditional British method of providing treatment in voluntary as opposed to official hos-, pitals, that we have too man}' beds relative to the size of the population, that the average stay is too great, and .generally that the cost of treatment is too high. These criticisms," said Dr. Watt, Director-General of Health, at the Conference of the Hospital Boards Association, to-day, “are hard •to refute, on account of the difficulty of obtaining authentic information about the hospitals of other countries"; but a survey had been made of available hospital reports and relevant literature, and his task of placing before the Conference the facts he had been able to glean from these was made easier by a, scries of reports by Sir Arthur Newsholme (an English authority on public health). The first ’mint brought out by a perusal of Sir Arthur Newsholme’s studies was that voluntary hospitals have nowhere proved equal to the demands, and have to be supplemented by State or municipal institutions. It was obvious that this type of institution was sadly handicapped by its lack of assured income. Sir Arthur quotes the post-war experience of London and English hospitals, also the breakdown of finance ini connection with the Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney, where 200 beds have been closed in the last year and admission refused to all but urgent and accident cases.

The second point that Dr. Watt set out was that New Zealand is not oversupplied with beds. Figures per thousand of population were quoted as follows: —

New ‘Zealand 5.98 England and Wales .... 5.88 .Scotland 5.73 Denmark •• 6.75 Norway 5.53 Sweden 5.09

These (countries were selected because their standard of living approximated most closely to that of the Dominion.

Thirdly, Dr. Watt makes a point of quoting an array of figures showing that the average stay in hospital in New Zealand also compared favourably with other countries; but he adds that it does not follow that the average length of stay is incapable of reduction.

In regard to the cost per bed, Dr. Watt makes the following quotations: New Zealand, £200.3. London hospitals with medical schools, £215.8. Loudon hospitals without medical schools, £161.2. 'Canada, £206.8. Victoria, £210.9. In conclusion, the Director-General said, ‘'Although, no doubt, we can derive a measure of .satisfaction from a comparative statement of this sort, we must not adopt a complacent attitude. We must recognise that New Zealand’s present financial problems are of peculiar complexity and magnitude, and for that reason we must not relax our endeavours to effect improvements and economies 'Wherever possible, especially where it can be done without unduly impairing the efficiency of our hospital machine.”