"PAY FOR BRAINS"

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 212, 2 June 1920, Page 8

"PAY FOR BRAINS"

j■;■ NATIONALISATION OF HOSPITALS (.-.''. ' ' • .

' PUBLIC HEALTH MINISTER STATES HIS VIEWS

■ Tho question of tho nationalisation of !: v public hospitals was referred to by the i'Minister of Public Health (Hon. C. J. ■ Parr), in the course of Mb address to j this Hospital Boards' Conference yester-;'-.day.

: "1 admit" ho 6aid, "that the tendency ; all over, the world is in that direction, J and that it will probably come hero, but : I want to'say a word "or two of wnrn- [..' ing with! regard to the nationalisation of : .hospitals iir.anything else." Tho Minister ;''.• added.that he had always been keen for ;v Stato undertakings, providing that tho '; State was in a position to carry these on I; better than private enterprise. His ex- ; perience of public, life had convinced ; him that there were evils under a beauro- :' cracy, just the same as in other systems. The State could not hope for success un- ■ less it was prepared to "pay for brains." ','' 'What could it expect when it was pre- ". 'pared to pay "only J&W, .£9OO, or JIOOO i to officers to manage departments run- ;, ning into millions of pounds?" The Min- •;. ister reminded delegates that nationalisation would practically mean tho abolition | r of hospital boards. The Stato would ;,' have to hear the whole burden of the |. .'cost of hospitals, and would therefore re- '■•' i quire to have tho main control of tho jK system.' '■'.' Touching on anothlw point, the Mmis- : ter said that he would not be prepared ; to undertake nationalisation without mak- - ing reforms as to central management. v Doctors, liko teachers, were not always ; , business men, and when it came to busi- [ hess organisation they had got a lot to : i learn. In this fact'would lie one weak- ' ; ness bf thte State trying to run tho hos- ••.' ■ pitals. On this account he would separ- )■ ate the business aspect from the physical 1 aspect. Unless tho State was prepared ;'■■ to do something like that, he would not ! counsel the extension of State enterprise '' relating to Itospitals.

National. Medical Service. ; deferring to the demand of eome local i ' bodies that the Government" should hear ; the whole cost of running the hospitals, : ; theJlinister said that last year the total :• cost to the boards was ,£350,'111. The Gov- >'■■ ernment subsidies .to tho-'boards amount- ! Ed to £287,021. What did delegates think (.- his chance was of getting Cabinet to : shoulder this additional burden of .£350,i ill?' The demands on the Treasury now "were unprecedented!} - large, and,the Min■V ister of Finance would, he thought, scarcely view the proposal with.favour. ; ; -■■' The necessity for some increase of na- ■ ' tional' medical service in the dominion > was also dwelt upon by the Minister. In . ithis connection he said it was pleasing - to note'that the Medical A Kocmhon had r- Riven tho rest, of the Dominion a lead. ! 'He was of opinion that in the interests I'• of public' health and of tho public generi ally some modified form of national medii cal service should be instituted. Any ; Bystem.adopted should pay special atten- : tion to tho nee<ls of sparsely-settled dis- ; tacts, mining' communities, and poor •■■ patients in large cities. There could be ' no question that this reform was bound to come. Finance was'at present a dim- -' culty, and ho reminded delegates that 1 .- the annual charges on ttrte Treasury had ; 'risen by .£11,000,000 in five years. For ' this reason he could not undertake the {.. reform this year. The Minister emphas- : . ised the hardships of backblocks settlers ■on account of lack' of proper medical '' facilities, and said that the treatment ' of cases from these districts did not re- ! -fleet credit upon either the Government • or the hospital boards. He had, accord- ■' ingly, asked Dr. Valintine and his officers ■ to consider the question of providing '.'. some modified form, of national medical : 'service for the outlying districts, the ! settlers should not be penalised through ;'• lack of proper medical and hospital '• : facilities. , ■ ' .