HOSPITAL LOAN

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 59, 26 March 1943, Page 5

HOSPITAL LOAN

MOVE FOR DEFERRMENT • COUNTY. COUNCIL'S DECISION AWAITING G OVERNMENT STATEMENT The receipt of two letters from farmer ratepayers on the Ran- • gitaiki and at Taneatua opened the discussion on the proposed! Hospital Loan of £45,000,. at the meeting of the , Whakatane -County Council last Tuesday 1 after a lengthy debate the "following motion, was carried unanimously: "That in the mat" ter of the Bay of Plenty Hospital Board's proposed loan of £45,000, the Board' be respectfully requested to receive a deputation of Council members and 1 ratepayers who have recently interested themselves by public : meetings on; the matter and that the Board be requested to hold "all proceedings in connection with! the loan in the meanwhile." The Council, which in accordancc with its recent motion objecting to the loan and urging that the expense of the new Nurses Home should be cut down if possible received a letter from the Board which stated that although tlio Council's p.oint of view was appreciated all the points raised had '\becn investigated and found to bn • impracticable. The chairman,'Mr .T. L. Burnett, •discussing the said, lie understood that after having advertised for objections the Board had not ■considered them until after it had •decided to proceed with the loan and. had carried - the requisite motion for that authority. If that was so it. was highly irregular. Cr Burt substantiated that fact stating that the objections had not even been before the meeting till long after the resolution had been jpassed. The Chairman: Didn't any one raise the question of the objections. Cr Burt: I don't think it dawned ■on us that they were not being heard. Cr McCreacly and I both voted against the motion. More Careful Investigation Cr McGouglui said that though at first he had* been in favour of the loan he was now satisfied that the Board, should go more carefully into the matter of doing away, if possible, with the Nurses Home, pro-' posal and considering the ratepaj*•crs point of view. The ratepayers had every right to have their ob- . jections heard. In response to the chairman's query as to whether there had been any indication as .to what the Government intended doing with regard ,• to the future financing of hospitals, •Cr Burt said that he 'was heartily in favour of deferring the present for just that, reason. Hp had had reason to believe: that the Government Avas considering a scheme for the setting-up of a central hospital at Rotorua and vising -outlying hospitals as receiving depots. lif that came about it would -alter the whole aspect. If in the meantime the overcrowding at tin* hospital became intense then he favoured the purchase of houses in the vicinity J'or the use of those patients who had reached the convalescent stage. The growing burden of rates in this county had to be watched carefully. Cr McGougan said he had not •changed his mind regarding the ur:gent need lor the hospital improvements but. merely with reference to the costly item for the erection of -a Nurses Home. Possible Government Move The chairman said he had" been discussing the matter with Mr Sullivan, M.P., who had stated that in conversation with the. Minister for Health (Hon. H. ANordmeyer) it had been mentioned by the Minister that the* Government was' considering the whole question of hospital administration throughout the Dominion. He (the chairman) therefore thought it wiser to defer the loan proposal until th» Government had clarified its policy. He realised how much the ratepayers were concerned over the growing burden on the l&nd) and if possible the cil should seek ''to lessen it, by prevailing upon the Board to stay its hand. Objection to Principle Ci Burt.: I'd like to see the. children's ward continued with.

C'r McCracken said lie* was not averse to the Board's plan, but objected .strongly on principle to the manner of raising the necessary finance. If the Council agreed it would move or less indicate its ad-> heretic© to the Government's policy. Cr Burt then informed the Council that Cr McCready (who was ab-> sent from the Council meeting when the discussion was taking place) had held the application for the loan, up, by entering a formal; notice of motion objecting to its going forward and that therefore nothing could be done towards its granting by the Loans Bogrd until after next meeting. The Council thereupon carried, the motion as set out at the head of this article.