Charges For Outside Patients

Northern Advocate, 10 January 1939, Page 3

Charges For Outside Patients

The question of hospital charges for patients from outside hospital districts is to be placed before this year’s annual conference of the New Zealand Hospital Boards’ Association by the Whangarei Hospital Bo'ard. The conference is to be held at New Plymouth in February. At its last meeting the board commented unfavourably on the action of the Auckland Hospital Board in fixing its charges for patients from other districts at 15/- per day for both adults 'and children. It was decided to approach both the Auckland Board and the Department of Health in the matter. lE/- Covers Cost.

At yesterday’s meeting a reply was received from the department stating that statutory provisions implied that the bo'ard concerned might recover the cost of maintenance and treatment. If, as was understood, the 15/- a day was not an excessively high cost, it would be somewhat difficult to contest the Auckland Board’s decision.

No reply was received from the Auckland Board itself. “There is nothing more we can do for the moment.” remarked the chairman, Mr J A. S. Mac Kay. Mr H. L. Younger pointed out that there was no uniformity of charges among hospital boards in this respect. Children at Full Rate. “If the Auckland Board has reason for charging children full rates, other boards would have reason to do the same,” he said. “If we are charging children from the Auckland district half rates, while they are charging full rates for children from this district, there is something wrong somewhere*” he added. “It is only necessary to open the matter up for discussion,” he said, in moving that the point should be embodied in a remit to be placed before the Hospital Boards Conference. This course was agreed to by the board.