HOSPITAL COMMISSION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17755, 14 April 1921, Page 6

HOSPITAL COMMISSION.

DR. WYLIE'S EVIDENCE.

GROUPING INSTITUTIONS.

QUESTION OF PAYING WARDS.

[BY TELEGRAPH. —r-RLSS ASSOCIATION.]

WELLINGTON. Wednesday. The Hospjtal Commission resumed to day.

Mr. E. Killick, secretary of the Department of Public Health, gave a comprehensive review of the whole hospital and charitable aid legislation and administration. Regarding ' the subsidy system, witness said one of the" two factors taken into consideration was that the amount of the capital value per head of population was considered an index of the wealth of a district ; that, however, was not always the case. The other factor was that expenditure was presumed to mean extravagance, whereaß it did not necessarily mean extravagance. Under the proposed scheme it. was assumed by the department that neither of these considerations was correct. The whole scheme was framed with a view to try and bring about an equal rate all over the Dominion. The whole question of voluntary contributions was really beyond the department. It was a question" whether the Government could stand increasing expense. Regarding fees, witness was inclined to lean toward a uniform fee of £3 3s, and members of friendly societies should, he thought, be charged half that fee.

Dr. Wvlie, head of the hospitals branch of the Health Department, stated- that the establishment of private or paying wards was desirable, especially in small and medium-sized towns, in order that the hospital activities might be concentrated and all possible facilities made available to every section of the community. Paying patients in such wards would have the medical men of their choice *ew places in New Zealand outside the large centres could adequately develop both a good public hospital service and a good private hospital sendee. Base hospitals were expensive to institute and maintain properly. He was of opinion that only a' certain number could be adequately developed in the Dominion. He held that other hospitals in a district in which base hospitals existed should be definitely affiliated to it for special purposes, and that base hospitals should receive a special grant or subsidy totalling £50,000 a year for the whole Dominion to enable them to fulfil properly their functions and develop the necessary special departments. Officers of .the department had considered grouping various hospitals in the Dominion, and their recommendations were that the following affiliations be carried out:—Bay of Islands with the Whangarei base hospital ; Coroniandel and Waihi with Thames; Inangahua with Grey; Picton with Wairau; Wallace and Fiord with Southland; Whangaroa. Mangonui, Hokianga and Kaipara with Auckland; Tauranga and Bay of Plenty with Rotorua; Taumarunui with Waikato; Wajapu -with Cook; Wairoa and Northern Waipawa with Hawke's Bay; Southern Waipawa with Palmerston North: Stratford and Hawera with Patea; Ashburtjm with North Canterbury; Vincent, Maniototo and South Otago with the Otago base hospital. No affiliations were recommended in respect to the Wairarapa, Wellington and South Canterbury Hospital Board districts. He was firmly convinced a considerable field existed for the department to institute more economic methods of hospital administration, particularly in the purchasing, storing, and use of hospital supplies of all descriptions. A new officer, an inspecting house steward, had been recently appointed, whose duties would be to visit and inspect hospitals, particularly in connection with these matters. He felt sure that as a result of his appointment substantial economies could be effected within a short sp'ace of time.