HOSPITAL AFFAIRS.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 648, 8 July 1921, Page 5

HOSPITAL AFFAIRS.

A CHANGE liM SYSTEM OF LEVIES SUGGESTED.

GOVERNMENT SUBSIDIES ADVOCATED.

During the last few years local bodies throughout the Dominion have been severely taxed by Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards, and in spite of M umerous endeavours to bring aboyi a change of levying have all proved futile. Some local authorities contend that the Government should subsidise levies on a £ for £ basis, while others maintain the coritributions should hail from the Consolidated Fupd, thus everyone with an income would be within the reach of the iax, instead of the present system of merely taxing the land owner, who thus has to bear the brunt, while the retired persons quite able to pay benefit, at the expense /of the fanner. ,

A radical change is necessary and with this object in view ' the Stratford Hospital Boai-d forwarded a circular letter to the Franklin County Council yesterday, soliciting its cooperation in effecting a change from the present system of apportioning subsidies in favour of a return to the simple and universal £ for £. The letter states the present system was instituted with the idea of graduating the Government’s share of hospital and charitable aid expenditure in each district according to the ability of its inhabitants to carry the remaining burden/ It takes, as the gauge of that ability, a combination of three factors —the population, the rateable value, and the nett expenditure on hospital maintenance and charitable aid, after deducting recoveries from patients and other sources of revenue. It is an ingenious, if somewhat complicated device, but it hss serious defects that have been recognised by the department and have led to another endeavour to frame a

system that shall secure ideal justice to all districts. Unfortunately the factors that detract from the fairness of the present system are to be retained in. the new one. Rateable valufes are again taken as a basis for the calculations although necessarily never uniform, dating some from last yeaj and some from ten years back. The factor of the requirements is retained, although depending upon circumstances having no necessary reflation with the ability of a district to dispense with* Government, assistance. Add to these defects the in-

evitable delay that would take place before .Boards were made acquainted with their particular rate of subsidy, X and it is evident that the proposed new system of graduation would be no improvement upon the present one. A change is called for, but it should be a return to the simple plan of £ for £, a plan that is accepted as satisfactory in the matter of capital levies. A t> revision might be made that, in certain districts with special disabilities grants in aid of revenue woaid be available in addition to ordinary. subsidies. —The clerk said he believed the whole matter was dealt with „by the Hospitals Commission. The letter- was merely received.

Levy om Franklin Couniy.

The Auckland Hospital and Charitable Aid Board intimated that the Council’s contribution to the Board amounted to £4792 5s .'d, representing a rate of 3-10ths of a penny in the £ on a county rateable value of £3,833,824. The chairman said that with a

Government subsidy they could run a Httle hospital of their own. The letter was received.

member’s Report.

The local representative on the Hospital Board, Mr J. D. Chalmers, submitted a statement of the number of persons from Franklin County who j-eceived treatment in Auckland Hospital during the year ended March 31, 1920, as follows:—Number of persons admitted to hospital 126, obtained relief 40, amount of fees in respect of same hospital £1067 18s, cost of relief £242 16s, amount of fees paid hospital £533, summary hospital expenditure £534 12s lid, relief expenditure £242 16s, net total expenditure in respect of residents of Franklin for one year after deducting fees received £777 8s lid, contributions panted to £5187 14s 11, made up aa/foliows:— Franklin County £4477 mL ScL, Pukekohe Borough £435 17s £}d* Tuakau Town Board £l2O 5s 2d, Waiuku Town Board £153 15s 4d. It was decided to thank Mr Chalfor the information It was out that it was the first time Sie Council has received any informasnation on the matter.