The Guardian (And Evening star,with which is in-Corporate the west coast Times.) FRIDAY, AUGUST 17th. 1923

Hokitika Guardian, 17 August 1923, Page 2

The Guardian (And Evening star,with which is inCorporate the west coast Times.) FRIDAY, AUGUST 17th. 1923

DOS ITT A I, AMENDING RILL. TnF. l'ollowirig proposed alterations are included in tile Hospitals and Charitable Institutions Act Amendment Bill introduced in the House on Wednesday.—Notice is t-o bo given to the Minister of the appointment of medical and other officers, and a list of applicants must he forwarded. The Minister may submit to the Board for its guidance such reports and recommendations as he thinks fit, and the Board shall give due consideration thereto. Section 38 of the principal Act relating to subsidies is amended. The section deals with the subsidies to Boards in respect of moneys received. The section as amended provides that the subsidy shall not exceed £1 (instead of ten shillings) for even’ £1 of bequests, and £1 '(instead of 2-ts) for every £1 of voluntary contributions or gifts other than 'bequests. Subsection 3, which provided that the sulwidy shall not exceed £.">oo in respect to the estate of a single testator, is to be repealed. Boards are to furnish estimates of receipts and expenditure, the estimates to include deficiency in revenue for the preceding year. There is a clause providing for the apportionment of net estimated expenditure among t-lie contributory local authorities in proportion to the capital value of the rateable property in each district, as determined by the Valuer-General, and powers nre provided for the recovery of contributions, 'the amount of unpaid contributions may lx' deducted from sulxiidics payable to the contributory authority. The contributory local authority may pay its contributions out of ordinary funds, or may raise a special rate for the purpose. In case of a deficiency in the Board’s estimate of capital expenditure, the Board may make a supplementary estimate and I apportionment. In case of deficiency in the estimate of maintenance expeif

diture, the Minister may advance the amount on account of subsidy for the following year. An amendment is proposed in the disqualification clause, the clause, ns proposed to Iso amended, wall disqualify anyone concerned or iutc.rosTed (otherwise than a member of an incorporated company in which there are more than 20 members, and of which he is not a general manager or a local manager) in regard to contracts made with a Board. In the principal Act the words are “director or general manager.” Private hospital is defined in the Bill as any hospital in which “one or more patients are received.” The main Act had it, “Two or more patients are received and lodged at the same time.” The annual license foe is not to exceed £-5. At present it is- only ten shillings. An addition is made to the revocation of the license clause. It provides that a license can bo revoked if the private hospital is insufficiently equipped. A new subsection lias been added to Section 118, providing that for every licensed medical and surgical hospital of which the manager is a registered medical practitioner there shall, in addition to the manager, he at all times resident on the premises of the hospital a registered nurse; and for every licensed maternity hospital, of which the manager is a registered medical practitioner, there shall, in addition to the manager, be at all times resident on the premises of the hospital a registered midwife; and for every hospital which is licensed, both as a maternity hospital and as a medical and surgical hospital, and of which the manager is a registered medical practitioner, there shall, in addition to the manager be at all times resident <ui the premises of the hospital a registered nurse who is also a registered midwife, or a registered nurse and a registered midwife. Provision is made that after the commencement of the Act no license for a private hospital shall ho granted, and no licence (whether existing tit the commencement of this Act or not) shall he transferred to any person who is not qualified to he the manager of a licensed hospital in terms of Section 118 of the principal Act. Records are to he kept as to the use of anaesthetics and a« to temperature charts. For false entries, a penalty up to £SO is provided. A licensee or manager is to have the right of referring to the Beard of Health matters affecting the administration of tno principal Act. There is a. new schedule in regard to •subsidy payable to hospital hoards In respect of maintenance expenditure. It provides that—(l) Subject to the provisions of the schedule, the levy made by any hoard for maintenance purposes on its contributory local authorities shall consist of the sum of (a) an amount equal to sixteen-fortieths of the net estimated expenditure of the board for maintenance purjxx-e.s; nnd (b) an amount hearing to four-fortieths of the net estimated expenditure for maintenance purposes of the board during the preceding year, the same proportion as the capital value of the rateable property in the distiict of the board in question bears to the capital value of the rateable property in all hospital districts. (2) If the levy for any year determined in accordance with the foregoing provision t! is more than twenty thirty-fourths of the net estimated expenditure of the board for maintenance purposes for Hint year, the amount of the levy shall bo reduced accordingly to twenty thirty-fourths of such net estimated expenditure. (3) If the levy for any year determined in accordance with the foregoing provisions is less than twenty forty-sixths of tno net estimated expenditure of the board for maintenance purposes for that year, the amount of the levy shall 1,0 increased according to twenty forty-sixths of such net estimated expenditure. (4) The subsidy payable to any board in respect of its maintenance expenditure shall he the difference between its net estimated expenditure for maintenance purposes and the levy determined in accordance with the foregoing rules. (.5) The rate of subsidy is the amount of subsidy payable in re,H|Ks't of each .Cl of levy, (fi) The subsidy ] avnble in accordance*'with the foregoing rules shall I>o payable in the first place at a rate calculated to the nearest penny ]ier pound of levy, and all adjustments necessary to give full effect to the provisions slut 11 be made as soon a.s practicable thereafter.