CHARITY AND ECONOMY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1769, 6 June 1913, Page 4

CHARITY AND ECONOMY.

The vigorous protests against the increasing expenditure which are being made by the contributing bodies of the Wellington Hospital and Charitable Aid district deserve the careful attention of the new Board and the Department. The payment of hospital fees certainly requires to be placed on a more satisfactory footing, for the statement made qt the recent conference that out of £24,000 due for fees in one year, only £<1000 has been collected, indicates that there is laxity somewhere. Those who can afford to pay for hospital treatment certainly ought to be made to pay, and stricter precautions should be taken to ensure that the provision of freo treatment is not abused. It must, on the other hand, be remembered that the Hospital is a public institution, and those who are really without means ought not to be excluded from its benefits. Most people would prefer that the authorities should err on the side of generosity than adopt over-drastic regulations that would prove harsh and oppressive to genuinely poor people. Still, as Me. Btinny states, more careful inquiry might be made into the paying capacity of patients, and the new Board and the Department should take steps to. give effect, as far as possible, to the suggestions of the recent conference of contributing bodies that the privileges of the hospital shall be confined to persons of limited incomc; that patients who desire to escape payment shall make a declaration as to means; that the names of all persons who are granted exemption snail be forwarded to the local authorities, and in the case of persons making false declarations proceedings shall be takers Some such precautions are undoubtedly necessary, and if interpreted in a reasonable spirit, ought not to press hardly on anyone. It is, however, only fair to tho Board to call attention to the fact that the Chairman (the Rev. W. A. Evans) recently pointed out, in reply to criticism, that the increased expenditure was largely duo to the increased demands made upon the hospital by the public, combined with rapid changes in methods of treating diseases, increased post of provisions, and the wear and tear that is constantly going_ on in connection with the buildings and equipments. All will admit that a cheese-paring policy that would diminish tho efficiency of tho institution would be false economy, and care should be taken, lest by unduly oppressive regulations, tlic very people for whose benefit the hospital is in a special sense supposed to exist may be driven away; but, on the other hand, reasonable precautions should bo taken to prevent waste and extravagance, and to ensure that public charity is not abused by people who are quite able to pay for any medical services they may require.