Hospitals For Temuka And Geraldine

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23111, 27 January 1945, Page 4

Hospitals For Temuka And Geraldine

TN rejecting the request of the South Canterbury Hospital Board for its support in seeking a referendum on the proposal to take land from Timaru Park for building extensions to the Timaru Hospital, the Temuka Borough Council showed in the discussion of the question that it favours the establishment of cottage hospitals both at Temuka and Geraldine. Similar views have been strongly expressed in Geraldine, and in a way making it obvious ... that something more than local pride is involved. The Temuka and Geraldine districts are not seeking hospitals for parochial motives, but because they honestly believe tflat hospital service is required in both - centres and that if it is provided a ■- solution might be found for some of the problems now confronting the South Canterbury Hospital Board. In recent years there has been a pronounced trend towards centralisation in all kinds of services and community undertakings, but now there are many signs of failing faith in centralisation. There is a powerful movement, for example, to decentralise industry, the centralisation of which has brought about the evil of aggregating population in areas not fully fitted to absorb it. It may be that in the post-war period thete will be a general return to the idea of creating completely independent civic units. Instead of centralisation, decentralisation may be regarded as the best policy for New Zealand. This is not an occasion to argue in detail the merits of decentralisation as opposed to centralisation, but there are arguments running both ways which local authorities should at least study. This is no time either to make radical policy changes, but all local bodies should be keeping their minds and ears open, and they should be thinking of the future. The Hospital Board, in addition to administering contemporary hospital business, could be planning ahead. The representations coming from Temuka and Geraldine are clearly well-intended and sincere. On that ground they ought not to be ignored.