HOSPITALS IN DEBT

Taranaki Daily News, 29 March 1932, Page 8

HOSPITALS IN DEBT

PILING UP FOR YEARS. 4 £42,000 OWING FOR SUPPLIES. ’ (New Zealaud Herald Correspondent), i Sydney,’ March 3. ‘ Although huge profits are being made ] by the New South Wales State lottery, ( established ostensibly for the hospitals, those institutions are in an ..-appal- j ling position financially. Debts have been piling up for years now, and the posi- , tion to-day is quite out of hand, and ■ far beyond the capabilities, appaiently, of even such a statesman as Mr. Lang. Mr. Lang has not suggested repudiation, but his only remedy was the lot- , tery, and he now finds that the half-a- ( million profits that will be made by that department to the end of June will be insufficient to get the hospitals out of trouble. 'He seems to have no other suggestions to offer. The great public hospitals in New South Wales have always depended upon private subscriptions that were subsidised by the Government, and since the lottery was put into operation private subscriptions have fallen off in a startling manner. It is estimated that the Sydney metropolitan hospitals owe tradespeople more than £42,000, and big business houses say that they are unable to carry the burden much longer. However, they are reluctant to refuse supplies and are carryin" on in the hope that the Government will be able to find some way out. As the Government is pressed on all hands for, money this, does not seem at all likely, and one wonders what is o-oin" to become of the hospitals. ° Already many of the hospitals have been compelled to close wards and beds, arid scores of patients are refused admission each day. Most of the institutions are prepared to take only urgent surgical cases, and even so they are overcrowded and their work is hampered because they are unable to keep their staff up to the full strength. The Sydney Hospital alone owes £19,000 and repeated appeals to the Government have been in vain. The electricity account stands at more than £l4OO and is 14 months overdue. The gas bill has mounted to £716 since last March. Practically all the other accounts are at least nine months m- arrears. The meat and milk bills that are unpaid total £l6OO, and butter and bread £/ Tlie Prince Alfred Hospital owes £lO,OOO to various tradespeople, and the meat and milk bills alone account for more than £2OOO. Meanwhile the Government has overdrawn its estimate for the hospitals by £50,000 already, and does not know where to look for further relief. The whole question of financing the hospitals, which simply must be kept open, seems worthy of consideration before legislation which authorises betting on tin-hare racing.