AN IMPOSSIBLE BURDEN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 61, 5 June 1942, Page 5

AN IMPOSSIBLE BURDEN

GROWING HOSPITAL RATE

BAY DELEGATES CONFER VIGOROUS PROTEST VOICED County and Borough delegates : from Rotorua, Tauranga, Te Puke, Opotiki and Whakatane attended a slpecial conference; •convened by the Whakatane County Council yesterday, for the purpose of discussing the ..growing incidence of Hospital rating throughout the Bay of Plenty. Messrs W. Sullivan and F. W. Doidge, M.P.'s, an.il Mr B. C. Robbins, M.L.C., were also in attendance. The conference was probably the largest and most representative of i'ts kind ever held in Whakatane and certainly reflected the growing concern with, which local bodies generally are viewing the increasingly heavy hospital rate. Thirty-five - delegates attended. Opening the meeting Mr Burnett • said that the question of hospital ■ rating had been causing, the Whakatane County) Council concern; for some time. It was thought when the .new rate was released this year that it wasi time some change should be -brought about. With this end in view the conference had been convened. Dealing with, the history of the hospital system, Mr Burnett said ■that in 1886 the first Hospital Bill was introduced, giving rise to the system which was still in force to- - day, i.e. by contributions and levies -on local bodies within specified areas. In 1907 47 Hospital Board areas had) been set up each with a Hospital and Charitable l Aid! Board - operating therein. In 1939 : the Government introduced the Social Se- •• curity Act, whereby free medical' attention and hospital treatment was -made available for every bodyi The charge to offset the cost of this -scheme was a levy of l/i in the £. As every body knew this; sum fell far short of the actual figure required for hospital administration. Remedy Noit Easy The remedy was not going to be - easy, to find, but he contended that -as it was possible in the '.slump" period to ; levy 1/- in the £ to off-' set unemployment, it should be' possible now to levy a similar sum: on salaries and: wagesi to meet hospital He was further of the opinion that the Social Security was mainly, responsible for the increase -and as this act was likely to remain -on the Statute Book for aM time, .any decision which the meeting, aimed at should be a long range one. The following ideas had occurred to him—that the Government should .find the whole cost out of the Consolidated Fund, or that the Social -Security levy should be increased, -or again that 50 per cent should -come from the Consolidated Fund .and) that 50 per cent should: come from an increase in salaries and wages.

Doctors to Blame Mr B. S. Barry, Mayor of Whakatane, said: the country could: not -stand up to the present rise in costs, -which had been largely -due to the ..Social 1 Security Scheme. The doctors Avere, in bis opinion largely to blame, for under the scheme as long as they received their lee lor the patients, they treated, they did; not Avant the bother of going out to the •country districts to visit them and so for the slightest reason they sent p them to hospital as the more con"ve.nicnt place. He did net thinkthere Avas, any doubt abe.ut that. He maintained further that the cost of the T.B. treatments for Mia or is in Government sanatoriums should be a national charge and not a local body one. Important Problem ' Mr L. 11. Wilkinson, Mayor of Tauranga, said that the gathering showed that the intense feeling aroused by the question indicated the desire, to grapple with the subject in spite of the war problems which, laced the country to-day. Local bodies did not wish to embarrass the Government at this lime, but it was imperative that something should be done lo assist the position. At the same time, be wanted it to bei clearly understood thai there, was no desire to restrict the pitals, particularly the maternity institutions. After conferrijsg with a number of representatives of this area he had concluded that some reasonable and adequate suggestions * shouldi be put forward. These were i oughly (1) 1 hat the Government subsidy per bed should be increased c

accommodation or work of the hosfrqm 6/- to. 8/-; (2) that the. incidence of taxation should lie more equitably distributed; andj (3) that more assistance from Art Unions should be directed towards hospital administration. No Lifting- of Taxation The Mayor of Rutorua, Mr H. W. Dansey, said, that Rotorua, being affiliated, to a larger community, the burden was not so. heavy on the individual. He warned the meeting that the conditions of the country at present were not likely to make for any lightening o.l' the, burden of taxation. Rather, he contended, the charges were almost certain to grow in view of the burdens; brought about bj r the war. He supported however Mr Wilkinson's suggestion of diverting some of the moneys, raised: by Art Unions, and also, event further, by suggesting that the large sums produced from horse racing could also be utilised.

Hospital Boards Position

Mr R. Banks, representing the Waikato Hospital Board, said that he could, honestly say that hospital boards generally were 100 per cent with the meeting in its objectives. He stated that the cost per bed per annum at Auckland was £312, Wellington £277, Christchurch £250, Dunedin £260 and Waikato £217. His board, he declared, was so concerned at the rising costs to local bodies that at his own instigation it had called a special conference of Hospital Boards to consider the matter and if possible bring forward a suitable solution.

Speaking for Opotiki Mr G. Moody said that his council Avas also unanimous that there should be some reform in the method of taxation for hospitals. Just what form this should take was however the problem before them to-day. However, they were all of one mind that something very definitely should be, done.

Native Rate Problem

Mr C. Hume for the Tan rang a County, mentioned the problem of Native rates. This was very real with his council which paid no less than 25 per cent of the whole of its revenue to hospital administration.

The chairman off the Rotorua County Council said that the Native late problem, laid more heavily upon his! -local body possibly than Avith any other. He thought that the fairest method of assistance from the Government should be from the Consolidated; Fund rather than by an increase in the wages; tax. He realised however that there Avas A'ery little chance, of the grant being forthcoming.

Parasite Patients

He criticised a certain class of patient Avhich Avere filling the hospitals at present. People Avho should not be there at all, he' declared, Avere

merely being sent there as the most convenient institution to look afleathern during a slight illness. A direct charge on the patients should help alleviate this position. The whole system of taxing the land was unfair and should be overhauled. A. man whose farm was heavily mortgaged could not afford to pay out both, ways and if hospital rates were to go on increasing at the rate they had' in the past there would be a breakdown.

Opotiki's Concern Mr W. A. Gault from the Opoti.ki County Council, opined that his county was faced: with the unusual burden of having 2500 Maori population inside a county with only 2100 pakeha. The result was that the burden was thrown almost entirely on a community which did not number liftj r per cent of the whole. In his opinion there should lie some special concession lo meet counties with a heavy native population. He agreed too that there Avere many people "sponging" on the hospitals. Tt was too easy for persons to. get into the hospitals under the present system. Mr Maxwell, chairman of the Opotiki Hospital Board, mentioned; the fact Hi ait his board Avas confronted Avith the prospect of building a new hospital ay hi eh on top of the present difficulties was going to further aggravate the position. He recognised the. diffcuUios of the ratepayers where only 3 per cent of a, total of 215 per Vent Maori rate is collected. His board avouUl stand firmly behind any move to obtain further G evcrnnien t assistance. Art Unions Cited Mr H. Lewis, Tauranga County Clerk, said that (lie levy on capital A-aUie was to his mind erroneous, it was - for population that hospitals xistcd. For this reason lac was :

strongly in favour of the Art Union revenue. In Queensland by the 'Goiklen Casket' Art Union, the whole of the hospital system was carried by this means and it had been copied in other States. In 1938 no less than £2,837,000 had been contributed from this source while profits amounted to a further £793862. All tliia money had been given willingly and had resulted in the upkeep of very deserving institutions. He could not see anything against copying this scheme in New Zealand where last year the profits had amounted to> £70,689. He urged that tlie conference seriously suggest this method to the Government.

A Unified Charge

Mr J. T. Merrie, Opotiki County Clerk, said that he considered the lime had come for a more unfilled type of charge for hospitals. The present system was quite inequitable in that it was 1 being carried by one section only. People with no property were not pulling their weight, while the farmers wlm were paying heavily were also called upon to meet the Social Security levy.

Referring •to the Returned Soldiers who were coming home incapacitated, he said that these men should be a direct charge on the State. The Government also to stand the charge for all native patients. Ho instanced Opotiki's position where with an excess of 500 in population over the pakelias, they paid buti 3 per cent of the rates and yet filled the hospital with 60 per cent of the patients.

He strongly 1 advocated; that the conference approach the Government seeking a £2 tot £1 subsidy on capital expenses and £2 to £1 on maintenance.

Burden on Rural Communities

Mir Spcnce, of the Whakatane County, said that from figures in his possession it appeared that the rural population w T as called upon to pay by far the heaviest cost. In New Zealand 61 per cent of the population, lived in the towns and 39 per cent in the country. When it came to taxation however 53 per cent came from the rural ratepayers and- only 47 per cent from the towns. The. country people were therefore asked to pay out all along the line, and he ventured to say that they were the healthiest.

Mr Newsham of the .Tauranga Hospital Board, pointed out the growing cost of hospital administration. Quite apart from the running costs the perpetual rise in wages was a big factor, which had to be passed on.

Should Pay Something

Mr C. G. Caisley, Whakatane Borough, said that when a person went to hospital, their home expenses ceased, yet they received hospital treatment and keep for nothing. To his mind they .should' be prepared to pay a nominal fee of say £1 weekly.

Messrs Do-id ge, Sullivan and Robbins undertook to give whatever representations; were made from the conference their fullest support in Parliament

Before calling for resolutions to go forward to» the Government, Mr Burnett as chairman said he would like to point out that even in Queensland where hospitals' were largely kept by the proceeds of Art Unions, the Government and the local bodies still contributed! towards 1 . the cost. He also' reminded the meeting that the Prime Minister ha:li recently slated that the Government would; not be. agreeable to any alteration in the incidence of taxation during the war.

Nationalisation, Favoured'

Mr Wilkinson then moved 1 that "the Government be asked: to take steps at the earliest possible moment to nationalise the Dominion's hospiltal service and! that in the meantime it be: asked to subsidiste the capital and maintenance costs £2 for £1 plus the standing 6/- Social 1 Security contribution." An amendment by Mr Xewsham that the Government lie. asked to merely increase the Social Security levy from Gto !) per be-J was lost", as was a further amendment sponsored by Mr Barry to the effect that the Government be asked tothe hospital levies to the 10373tf figures* in order to maintain a fairer level. AFt Wilkmscn's: motion v." as then carried: without opposition. A. further motion moved by Mr M:?xwc-5! that the Government be asked to make i * self responsible for the full hospital costs ct* all service patients was . also carried.