HOSPITAL SERVICE

Hokitika Guardian, 6 May 1930, Page 2

HOSPITAL SERVICE

COST TO THE COUNTRY

STATEMENT BY MINISTER OF

HEALTH

PALMERSTON,!,NORTH, Alay 2. The Alinister .of Health (the Hon A. J. Stall worthy) to-day opened two new awards in the Palmerston North Hospital to provide, accommodation for •i 6 beds, which., brings the total number of beds to 293, making, it the sixth largest .general, hospital in New Zealand. This is nearly 5.4 beds per thousand of population, a proportion which is ahead of any district of a similar or greater population.

The Alinister referred to the expension of hospital and allied services in the Dominion. In the comparatively short period of five years, from 1924-5 to 1928-9, hospital maintenance had increased from £964,183 to £1,206,190, an increase of 25 per cent. This figure included 1 direct expenditure only on provisions, surgery and dispensary, domestic and establishment, salaries and wages, miscellaneous maintenance

and maintenance of out-patients/ departments, and did not include the interest sujnk in land, buildings and equipment or depreciation, which were together estimated to represent an annual figure of about £320,000. In the same period the annual numbers of inpatients under treatment increased from 65,250 to 87,888, an increase of 34.7 per cent. The. increase in tile number of in-patients as between 192v--2b and 1928-29 was 8046. Out- pat ients increased from 39,796 to 73.952 during the five years. The 1927-28 figure was 71,987.

Despite this apparently extraordinary increase in the number of outpatients, jt was of interest to note that the Dominion had less than one out-patient to one in-patient, whilst, in comparison, the United Kingdom had four and a half to one. Local conditions, arid, in particular, the fact that New Zealand had only a few large centres of population had, of course, a special bearing on this point. The aggregate days’ stay of inpatients of general hospitals during tne year 1928-29 was no »?ss than 1, 6(53.633. Including special hospitals such as infectious diseases hospitals, maternity hospitals, consumption toria and several of the Health Department’s institutions, the aggregate nays’ stay in hospital was 2,195.895. at. average of 4,-5. hospital days per lieau of population'. 3 lie administration of hospitals, which was the/major function of hospital boards,: and hospital maintenance constituted 70 per cent of the total expenditure, hut there were other important functions *to which reference must he made—the administration ol indoor and outdoor relief, which in recent years showed a considerable increase in cost, and which was probably the most difficult phase of the boards’ work, particularly at the present time. Although indoor relief had not increased quite so appreciably (being £llO 874 in 1928-29, as against £94,756 in 1924-25), the outdoor relief, however, in the same period had increased from £76,190 to £134,86-1 This was accounted for by the existence of the large scale unemployment, which made its appearance in 1926.

The total maintenance of hospital boards and the Health Department institutions for the year 1928-29 was £1,671.295, the corresponding figures for the previous year being £1.593.001 Having regard, however, to the stead-

ily growing popularity of the public services, resulting in their utilisation by a wider economic section of the community, . and to the development of related services by the Department it self, such as dental clinics, native nursing and medical services, and assistant to the Plunhet Society’s activities, it was desirable to view the subject from the aspect of the burden on public funds. Levies on local bodies had increased from £497,272 in 1924-25 to £675)238 in 1928-29, the estimated amount lor the year just closed being £688,728. Subsidies to hospital boards, payable from the Consolidated Fund, totalled £546,106 in 1924-25 and £698,105 in 192829. Including other expenditure by the Department on its ■ institutions and other related activities-, previously referred to, the total burden on public >-unds increased from £l', 181,924 in 1P24-25 to £1,523,929 in 1928-29. The estimated amount for 1929-30 was £1,562,248, which was equivalent to £l Is 4d per head of population, as against 17s 5d six years ago. The Estimates for the current year were at present being examined, but he was not in a position to project the amount of the demands to be made. He expressed the hope that hoards would co-operate with the Health Department' in drawing their estimates as finely as possible, recognising the constant need for. economy.