CONSUMPTIVE SANATORIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 July 1923, Page 5

CONSUMPTIVE SANATORIA.

SUGGESTED HOSPITAL CONTROL. HAWERA BOARD’S CONDITIONS. (From Our Own Reporter.) Hawera, July 9. The proposal of the Health Department that the Hospital Boards of. the North Island should take over the maintenance and control of the Pukeroa and Otaki sanatoria for consumptives, has been received with mixed feelings by the boards. The proposal was thoroughly discussed by the Hawera board to-day. The chairman (Mr. F. Gillanders) said he was opposed to the suggestion so long as the Government would carry the sanatoria, but rather than see them closed down he would prefer to see the Hospital Boards take them over.

Mr. G. W. Tayler considered the sanatoria could be managed much more efficiently and cheaply by the boards than by the Government, and that a lot of “red tape” would be cut out. Mr. A. Campbell said they certainly should not copsent to take the sanatoria over until the question of subsidies was satisfactorily settled. At present the institutions were maintained out of the consolidated fund, and all the public contributed. Whey should the Hospital Boards take control until they were assured of an equitable subsidy of £ for £ ? Other members expressed the opinion that they would be quite safe in taking control of the sanatoria if they could obtain a £ for £ subsidy. The secretary suggested that if the board agreed to the Government’s proposal, it should stipulate that a £ for £ subsidy be allocated on the sanatoria expenditure. Mr. Campbell, in moving that the Government’s proposal be opposed unless the £ for £ subsidy was granted, said if they got a flat rate on the sanatoria it would be a stepping-stone to securing a flat rate for all hospitals. Mr. Meldon moved as an amendment that the department’s proposal be rejected. The amendment was lost, and the motion was carried.

The chairman, Mr. Tayler and the secretary were appointed to represent the board at the proposed conference on the subject in Wellington.

VIEWS OF STRATFORD. THE PROPOSAL OPPOSED. (From Our Own Reporter.) Stratford, July 10. The question of Hospital Boards taking over the control of sanatoria was before the Hospital Board to-day. The chairman said it. would mean the Stratford Board would have to find £1 7s 9d for every £2 expended. The matter required very serious consideration as the maximum number of patients was shown as 309, with an average at Puheroa of 135 occupied beds. This number required 86 paid assistants, including 5 engineers, 3 motor drivers, typists, etc. The department admitted that the expense was bound to increase. At present £18,267 was collected from the Defence Department for treatment of ex-soldiers, and about £5822 from other patients. The running expenses were shown as £10,677 for salaries and wages, or an average of £76 per occupied bed. He considered these charges exceptionally high, and the attempt of the department to saddle these liabilities upon various districts should be strongly resisted. The chairman said that no North Island board was in sympathy with the proposal. He doubted if a council formed from groups of Hospital Boards could handle the sanatoria in an efficient manner. Only about one consumptive patient had been sent to these institutions in the last five years. Members thought that the Government had made out a very poor case, and the chairman was appointed as delegate to the Wellington conference with instructions to oppose the scheme to his utmost.