CHARGES FIXED AT THE HOSPITAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18547, 22 August 1928, Page 9

CHARGES FIXED AT THE HOSPITAL.

REVISION OF SCALE IS DECIDED UPON.

A revision of the charges made for service from the special departments of the Christchurch Hospital was agreed to at a meeting of the board to-day. The Hospital Committee recommended: That all in-patients—receiving service from the special departments of the hospital—shall be charged half the ordinary list of fees for work done in the X-ray and bacteriological departments. Each in-patient shall be charged 2s 6d per treatment for work done in the physio-therapeutic department. The dental department’s charges shall be as per scale. Radium fees having always been charged to in-patients, no further recommendation is necessary. With regard to the venereal diseases department, it is not regarded as desirable, at present, to make a charge for patients attending. Mrs M’Combs objected to any increase in the hospital fees. The large majority of the patients had more than they could do to meet the accounts. The present fees were, she considered, sufficiently high. The chairman said it was only the people who could pay who did pay. There were people who entered the hos*pital who were well able to pay, and why should they not pay? Those who required assistance in paying their accounts always received it. Mr F. Horrell said that the report should be referred back to the committee. He did not agree with the recommendation. The way the fees were dropping off would cause surprise at the end of the year. He objected to £ISOO a year being spent on V.D. patient:; who were not charged. The chairman said that the danger was that if the V.D. patients were charged they would not attend, and what was now an expenditure of £ISOO a vear might become an expenditure of £15,000. Mr Clyde Carr said that patients might perhaps be billed according to the means revealed by the statements which they filled in before entering the hospital. There was no doubt that a great number of patients got “the wind up” regarding their accounts. Mr Worrell's amendment that the clause be referred back to the committee was lost and the clause was adopted.