HOSPITAL BOARDS CONFER.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 4 March 1937, Page 6

HOSPITAL BOARDS CONFER.

PRIME MINISTER’S APPEAL FQK KING GEORGE MEMORIAL. (By Telegraph —Press Association.) TIMARU, Last Night.. The conference of Hospital Boards which is sitting in Timaru to-day received the following telegram from the Prime Minister: ‘‘As Prime Minister I shall shortly make an appeal to the people of New Zealand for the raising of a national fund to establish as New Zealand’s memorial to King George V. permanent children’s health camps. The form of the proposed memorial was decided after very full consideration of all possible alternatives. It was ultimately felt that nothing could be more in keeping with the regard his late Majesty had for the health and welfare of his people. While national in conception the proposed memorial will not be confined in its benefits to any one centre since at least two permanent camps are proposed for each island. ‘ ‘ I am appealing to you as head of an organisation deeply concerned with the health of our people to support me in my general appeal. I should be glad if you could see your way to commend the proposal to the conference with a view to the conference recommending all boards and members thereof to cooperate at the appropriate time in furthering the national appeal.”

The conference dealt with 36 remits many of which concerned the same subject and were passed without comment.

There was a long debate on a remit from Wellington and Tauranga boards that section 92 of the Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act 1926 and amendments be abolished. Auckland and a number of small boards opposed the remit on the grounds that it would mean a big financial loss but eventually the motion was carried. Remits dealing with the national health scheme were held over, the executive giving an undertaking to call a special conference to consider the Government scheme when it came down.

The question of State lotteries to augment hospital funds was briefly'rebated but the conference opposed asking the Government to conduct such lotteries.

There was strong support for a remit from the Grey Board that the treatment of tuberculosis be dealt with on a national basis.