NEW HOSPITAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24972, 15 August 1944, Page 4

NEW HOSPITAL

MIDDLE!©] !E BUILDING I THE QUESTION OF COST BOARD S INFORMATION The view t'M t», it' the Auckland Hospital Board Wf :(s to bo asked to take over the ne\ & hospital at Middlomore on its completion, the Minister of Health, Mr trdineyor, should clearly define the ted nils of the proposal, was expressed at a meeting of the board last night, li ie board adopted a recommendation cl't a special committee that, in view of • the' unsatisfactory position and of the J act that the board was not consulted il the initial stages, the Minister s»I« mid be asked if he insists on the boaj cil taking over the hospital and, iLi&yu.uihat authority there is for his reyuirin; £ the board to do so. Dist jussion About Costs Mr V. J [. Tracey said the hospital was n Jit tin ) typo of building the board would liavrj built, and would be more t |o operate. No indication had been gu/on as to how the board was to stall' i.fr. T here was no reason why the ratep a;fers - of Auckland should be sudd//.i.l with the cost of taking over the /buildi) |g at valuation, a.s he undersU iod woul Vi be the case, and also with j the* <)f administration of an tin- | ecotiOtr»i<? unit. t 'lilie chairnian, Mr A. J. Moody.) isai/l tj ie, figure of £1,000,000 had been j I m /'iit ic >tu'd to him as the cost ol the | 111 /jspitl -ilj Ho was satisfied it was going "to coJ t well over that. The hospital was i'ntenfied for military patients, and the Cr ivp,j pment had to go ahead rapidly in the < ''arly stages. Had the board been consi ilted, it would not have agreed with the layout. If it took the building over 1 , the board would be entitled to a very liberal subsidy from the War Kxpetn -cs Account. The board was not corn nitted in any way to take it over. It i. mild not be available! until FebJruait j'. I Other Points o! View Li: "'lt would not be right to put up /Wi.'ili overcTowtling in our hospitals ' w liile we have a private tight with the Jl linisfor," said Mr G. I' - . Hartley, who c onsidered the 3<H) beds at Middlemon.' v I'Hild be very useful. The board should I isifortain the terms, and in the rnoan- / til lie refer the matter to the Finance f Committee for a report. M Mr Selwvn Morris agreed that the board needed the hospital, and did not think it would help the board to strike a bargain if it pretended it did not want it. Mr J. Grierson said that to run Middlomore as a general hospital would cost the ratepayers between £30,000 and £IO.OOO a year on the basis of the . cost per bed at the Auckland Hospital. It might be possible to use part of it | a.s a general hospital and the remainder . for chronic cases. This would relieve . the congestion in the main hospitals t and the cost of operation would be less. . If it were going to cost the ratepayers . only '2s 6d or 3s a bed, the board i might be better off than it was today. It was agreed that the whole board . would visit Middlomore to inspect the . buildings on Saturday.