THAMES HOSPITAL

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5204, 16 November 1927, Page 2

THAMES HOSPITAL

MONTHLY BOARD MEETING. ROUTINE BUSINESS. The monthly meeting of the Thames Hospital and Charitable Aid Board was held on Monday, the chairman (Mr W. E. Hale) presiding over Messrs P. E. Brftnan, C. W. Parfitt, J. Lange, A. R. Robinson, W. J. Hall, C. W. Kennedy, and G. Tonge (secretary}. BENEVOLENT LEAGUE. The Hauraki Ladies’ Benevolent League forwarded a number of accounts, duly certified, and asked for the usual donation of £lO, which was granted. SUBSIDY ON DONATIONS. The Director-General of Health forwarded the following letter in connectim with subsidies on donations for “Christmas cheer.” Subsidy would not be paid upon amounts given for the purpose of providing extras for the patients at Christmas. “Generally speaking,” said the l et ' ter, “the rule to be obsej-ved is that the public funds should be used only for the purpose of prov’ding the necessary medical and nursing attention and adequate, sufficient, and appropriate diet for the patients. There are other avenues of expenditure, however, such as gramophones, wiraless sets, and Christmas cheer, the objects ?f which are; quite admirable if not essential, and might well be the subject of an appeal to the public for voluntary contributions. In such cases there should be an incentive to the. public to subscribe when it is known that the expenditure could not otherwise be incurred. Such an incentive is generally lacking in appeals to the public, who consider that there is no reason to givet, as the money would be forthcoming in any event out of levy and subsidy. Voluntary contributions form a very small proportion of a board’s revenue nowadays, and far from agreeing that the public would not subscribe if no subsidy is forthcoming, I consider that the reason the public do not give more money in voluntary contributions is that hospital finance is assured by other means. I think, therefore, that if you make an appeal to the public for funds for Christmas cheer you will find there will be a ready response. “As there seems to be some uncertainty as to whether or not subsidy is payable on donations for Christmas chqer, the above will make the matter perfectly clear.”

AMALGAMATION OF DISTRICTSThe chairman reported on the result of the visit of the DirectorGeneral of Health (Dr. T. A. H. Valintine). On receiving advice that the Director-General wished to meet the chairman of the board only, Mr Hale said he did not consider that it whs necessary to call thei whole board together, although Mr J. W. Danby (deputy-chairman) had been present. There was really nothing to report, and no fresh ground had been broken. The Waihi board’s desire for amalgamation with Thames had been discussed, but on behalf/ of the Thames board hei reiterated the conditions under which it would agree to amalgamation. The position to-day was the same as it was months ago.

PAEROA HOSPITAL. In reply to Mr Kennedy the chairman said, that the Director-General had not mentioned anything about the erection of the, maternity and casualty hospital at Paeroa. As he had previously stated, the only matter discussed was the amalgamation question. It appeared as Uf the Waihi Hospital had become a burden, and the Waihi board desired amalgamation as a means of relief. It had been made clear to Dr. Valintine that Thames would not agree to amalgamation unless the status of the Waihi Hospital was altered and that Thames received an equivalent rating area from the Waikato hospital district to make up for the l°ss of the, Waikino, Waitekauri, and Karangahake ridings.

TRIBUTE TO HOSPITAL STAFF. After being an inmate of the Thames Hospital for seven weeks MiHall said that ihe wished to record his thanks and appreciation to the doctors and nursing staff for their skill, kindness, and. consideration that had been shown him. He had had ample opportunror to get familiar with the administration of the hospital, and he considered that it was a matter for congratulation that the district should be in possession of such a capable staff in an up-to-date institution.

The chairman thanked. Mr Hall for his kind remarks.