CHARITABLE RELIEF.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 117, 18 April 1939, Page 8

CHARITABLE RELIEF.

REDUCED ALLOCIATION. “Charitable relief payments amounted to £2890 last year as against £3616 in the preceding year, and a further decrease in this expenditure can be anticipated,” commented the managingsecretary (Air A. J. Phillipps), in submitting to the annual meeting of the Palmerston North Hospital Board, yesterday, financial estimates which included £2IOO for charitable relief for 1939-40.

“During tlie past three months, relief has steadily declined,” he added. “The social security scheme introduced on April 1 materially affects this item. Inter alia, the benefits include a sickness benefit payable after seven days’ sickness, and this benefit is generally equal to the amount which this hoard will allow for a similar case, so that our assistance where the cause of distress is sickness will be limited to assistance during the period of illness which is not covered by the statutory benefits. At the present time we have an enquiry officer employed who is doing the investigation of the relief cases which we are handling. This officer will for for most of his time this year be engaged on inquiries in connection with patients’ accounts in our endeavour to clean up the outstanding debts as soon as possiblo after the introduction of the social security scheme.”