WAIHI AND THAMES HOSPITALS.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4462, 4 September 1922, Page 2

WAIHI AND THAMES HOSPITALS.

MATTERS FOR ADJUSTMENT. DISCUSSION BY WAIHI BOARD. In connection with the adjustment of the Waihi and Thames hospital districts relative to the treatment of Thames patients at the Waihi Hospital, the chairman (Mr Donaldson) referred at length tp the matter at the meeting of the Waihi Hospital Board (says the Telegraph). The question, he said, had been receptly brought up by the deputation representing the Thames Hospital Board asking whether a more workable method could not be adopted as between the two boards than the present one ip force. The chairman said he had given the matter considerable thought, and had come to th® conclusion that the suggestion then made that an annual subsidy should be paid by the Thames Board to Waihi in lieu of the present method of the collection of fees from Thames patients, and tlhe system of settlement between the two boards, would be the most satisfactory plan to adopt. The chairman, in stressing the point, said that the Waihi district was practically part and parcel of the Thames district, and it was a question as to whether an amalgamation would not be forced upon the Board. The speaker pointed out that if this were done it would mean at the very least an expenditure of £lOOO by. the Thames Board in the Waihi district. As neither body was anxious for an amalgamation it seemed to him better to ask for some nominal sum from thd Thames Board to be paid annually, and allow the Waihi Board freedom of management; to collect all fees possible from outside patient, and to wipe Off unpaid amounts formerly charged to the Thames Board. The question of the amount of subsidy was of course a vital one, and he thought should be made as reasonable as possible for Thames. A survey of the position in regard to the number Of patients admitted to the Waihi Hospital showed that approximately one-third of the entire number belonged to the Thames Hospital district. He was of the opinion that in view of the increased charges which hospitals were nbw compelled : to make, and in view of the growing population surrounding the Waihi borough, and who were ratepayers to the Thames hospital, that, the small sum of £250 per annum would be a very moderate one to ask. The speaker, in illustrating the pOint said that the sum named would about represent the cost to the Waihi Hospital Board of one and a half patients for a year. He hoped this generous offer would appeal to the Thames Board., and ’f by, any chance it was not deemed acceptable he was so convinced of its fairness that he was prepared to ask Dr. Valintine, head of the Health Department, to mediate in the matter as between the two boards. Other members present endorsed the view of the chairman, and it was decided to make the offer as proposed.