PARK ISLAND HOME

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 80, 21 April 1937, Page 12

PARK ISLAND HOME

Extension of Existing Agreement ONE YEAR NOT FAVOURED 0 That an extension of the Park Island Old People 's Home agreement between the three hospital hoards of Hawke's Bay for only 12 months, as suggested hy the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board, was simply a waste of time, and that an extension should be for a longer period, was the opinion expressed by Mr. L. Stein, chairman of the Dannevirke Hospital Board, at the quarterly meeting of the Park Island Joint Committee in Napier yesterday. After considering the matter, the Joint Committee deeided to ask the Hawke's Bay Board to defer the question until its next meeting, to enable the Dannevirke and Waipawa Hospital Boards time to decide what their views are regardmg the extension of the term of the agreement. The Joint Committee 'a seeretary, Mr. E. T. Bees, read a letter f rom_ the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board, . intimating that it had agreed to a twelve months' extension of the Park Island agreement. i "It is very nice to think that the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board is agreeable to extending the agreement," said Mr. Stein, "but I can't see what jts Teason is for extending it for only a year. Personally, I think that this Park Island business should be s-ettled once and for all. Even the Hawke's Bay Board knows that it would be one of the most original things to have the agreement wound up. On the Losing Side. "If that happened, the board would be on the losing side. The Dannevirke Board is quite agreeable to the three boards staying together. Neither of the two smaller boards could start a home of their own, and I think this also applies to the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board, "I think it's a waste of time to talk about winding up the agreement between the three boards. I don't even think the. Health Department was in favour of winding up the home." ,"He definitely was not in favour of extending .the agreement only for 12i months. At the end of the year,i he said, there would be some more bickering, which would be merely a waste of time. ' He moved that the Joint Committee write to the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board thanking it for agreeing to extend the agreement, but referring the matter baek to the board for further consideration, with a view to axriving at an agreement for a longer term. "I second this motion 'pro forma,' " said the chairman of the Waipawa Hospital Board, Mr. W. H. Rathbone. "My board feels that the Hawke's Bay Board has ignored the other two boards regarding the question of this agreement. It has taken the matter into its own hands and has dictated to the Joint Committee. "Another thing, we don't know what will be the effeefc of the Government National Health Intfurance Scheme on the Park Island Home." The chairman of the Hawke's Bay Board, Mr. C. Lassen, explained to Mr. Rathbone that the board had set up a committee whose soIeHufy was !o make a report to the board on the question of the agreement. The letter written to the other two boards asking that the agreement be extended for 12 months was intended to convey a suggestion, nothing more. "My impression was the Hawke's Bay Board should not try to decide what was to be done about the agreement without asking for the opinions of the other two boards," said Mr. Rathbone. "I understand now that the Hawke's Bay Board 's letter was posted only yesterday, and I accept Mr. Lassen 's explanation. " An amendment by Mr. Lassen that the Hawke 's Bay Board be asked to defer the question of extending the agreement until- the Waipawa and Dannevirke Boards had given the matter consideration was seconded by Dr. J. Allan Berry and carried. Mr. Stein was the only dissenter. He remarked that he did uot think that his board would be in favour of extending the Park Island agreement only fo,r 12 months.