HOSPITAL LEVIES

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160723, 9 August 1920, Page 11

HOSPITAL LEVIES

COTTAGE HOSPITAL SUGGESTED. BY WAITOTARA COUNCIL. When an account for ,£2616 Us 8d for maintenance levy and ,£2BB 18s for capital levy was received by the Waitotara County Council from the Hospital Board at the meeting to-day, Cr. C. G. Russell stated that the increase would bo a big claim on the Council’s rates. He considered that the Council should take into consideration the establishment of a Cottage Hospital, and the sum of approximately ,£3OOO would go a long way towards such an institution.

The Chairman: You suggest a hospital of our own? Cr. Russell: Yes, if we can do so.

The Clerk stated that a list showed that 958 patients had been treated from the Borough at the Hospital during the yea,r and 102 from the country. Unfortunately, the list was nob very accurate, and the exact number ot patients from each locality could not be definitely ascertained. Cr. Ross said it appeared to him to be ridiculous to have to pay ,£3OOO to look after about 100 patients. Ho thought the Council should go carefully into the matter of a cottage hospital. The levies had been on the increase, and had. risen from a few hundred pounds to thousands, and no one could say what the levy would in crease to within the next live to ten years. The inclination now was to centralise institutions and get more conveniences and larger staffs. He considered the levies should be on an equitable basis. At present it appeared that they were paying for a large pro portion of the Borough patients. SomG ]x?ople advocated centralising in order to get cheapenss, but in this case it apparently meant dearness. If the County had a cottage hospital the very severe cases could go to the larger institution. He then moved that the chairman, Crs. Russell and Burnet bo a committee to go into the matter. The Chairman pointed out that, although Taihape had its own hospital, it was under the Wanganui Hospital District.. and they had to pay the same levy. Waitotara would require a special Act to establish a cottage hospital, and he did not think the authorities would agree to this. Under the present system the levies were on a rateable value and not on a population basis. This meant that a large district with not much population had to pay very heavily. Cr. Jones pointed out that it would cost a great deal to establish a small hospital. The motion was then carried.