PAEROA HOSPITAL

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXV, Issue 4760, 6 October 1924, Page 2

PAEROA HOSPITAL

AMENDED PLANS SUBMITTED. DISCUSSION BY THAMES BOARD. At the Thames Hospital Board meeting on Friday last the amended plans for the Paeroa Maternity Hospital were received, and the undertaking was discussed at length, Mr Kennedy said he thought that the plans, in spite of the alterations, were too elaborate, and he could safely predict that the board was going to lose £lOOO on .the project, Mr Robinson said he did not agree that the institution was too elaborate. He was afraid that in - a short while it would not be nearly large enough. He stated that Paeroa was rapidly developing, and the population was increasing.

The chairman remarked that he considered it would be necessary to increase the fees in the future, a proceeding he was loathe to adopt.

Mr Robinson maintained that for the sake of humanity such an institution in a town like Paeroa was necessity and he saw no reason why the hospital should not be practically self-supporting from the outset. He considered that maternity cases required skilful attention, and the most up-to-date facilities for such should be available. The work should be regarded as of national importance. The chairman said that while he agreed with what the previous speaker had said, the financial side of the project could not be ignored and, unfortunately, he could not see how the difficulty was to be overcome. Even if the fees were increased the position would not be wholly met, for the reason that once such an institution was opened it became public, and as such urgent cases in indigent circumstances could not be turned away, although there would be little prospect of ever getting payment, and he contended that an increased burden must be placed on the board. Mr Danby suggested that in the event of the plans being approved of by the department ,a conference of all local bodies concerned should be arranged for the purpose of discussing ways and means for carrying on the institution.

The chairman said that nothing could be done until the department’s approval was obtained, and the amount of the subsidy that was likely to be forthcoming was known. Mr Kennedy said he felt sure that the board had no idea that such a costly undertaking would result when the hospital was promised for Paeroa. The chairman tsaid he understood that the ‘proposed building could not be further reduced and at the same time have the approval of the department.