HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 77, 20 October 1939, Page 5

HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS

PATIENTS MAY CHOOSE ANY INSTITUTION

BLOW TO SMALL BOARDS

:The serious position in which small hospital boards would find themselves owing to the repeal of a section of the act dealing with hospital treatment, was stressed at a meeting of the Bay of Plenty Hospital Board at Whakatane onThurs <lay. In the past the practice has

been that admissions of patients from one hospital board district to institutions governed by another

board could only be made if the approval of the first board had been -obtained, or if the case was an urgent, one. Now, apparently, patients may be admitted in any hospital,

and the home hospital board has to

•■contribute the difference between second institution's daily charge IEI the Government subsidy of 6s •bed. * "This is serious legislation from ■ our point of view. It's not fair. It means people can go to any hospital," said Mr F. J. Savage. I

"It is very unfair to my mind and very hard on the small boards" said "Mr J. W. Sumner, chairman. "Keep it Quiet." jVIr F. J. Burt thought it would be well to keep the matter quiet, otherwise all Galatea would be In to the Rotorua Hospital. It would be good business for a "•■city hospital to throw its own free patients out, and its beds for • country patients. It would be advisable to protest to the next association meeting said Mr Sumner. Mr C. A. Suckling moved thai a protest be sent to the Hospital Boards' Association against the iniquity of the amendment to the Act from the point of view of country boards. "There was no difficulty under the old arrangement. The medical certifica'te showing whether the.case was an urgent one was attached to the application. Now the patient is the judge," said Mr F. Prideaux. "This will upset the estimates un--■der that section. They were £1200 for the year but in the first six months we have paid £610 ( 10s and we owe £850, a total of £1450 with »the year only half gone." I

"We .should mention that point" said MV L Buddie.

Boards Will "Squeal."

Mr Burt said there would be a '"squeal" from many boards. Even the largest boards would be in a "bad position owing to overcrowding. Mr ft. W. Schofield thought they should! write to the Director-Gen-eral of Health and ask how the Act could be administered. Whakatane would be financing other boards. ~ Mr Suckling said they would have to start giving services in com petition with other boards. It .■would open the gate for competition between boards which would be all competing in the Bay. It would be the survival of the fittest, "We will go back to the Bay of Plenty district with one board," said Mr Schofield. He envisaged advertising in the Opotiki paper:—• "Gome to Whakatanc for best treatment." v

The motion was carried,