PAEROA HOSPITAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5252, 16 March 1928, Page 3

PAEROA HOSPITAL.

-0000 STATEMENT BY THE MAYORHistory of Proposal Outlined. « ■' Outcome of Thames Board’s Decision.

following on the iletter forwarded by the Director-General of Health, Wellington, to the Thames Hospital on Monday last, and the dis- ' cushion which took place and was published in full in our Wednesd'ay’is -issue, the following statement was presented by His Worship the Mayor (Mr, AV. Marshall!) at last night’s meeting of the Paeroa Borough Council :— <l In 1897 the sum of £sso’ lOd 'had been voluntary, subscribed- towards and. for the purpose of establishing a public hospital in the county of Ohinemuri. of which at that time Paeroa was a part. In that year the Ohinemuri Hospital Fund was created and trustees duly appointed. In the course of time this fund increased. Subsequently a site was purchased by tlie trustees in Normanby Road, and adjoining, this, f Crown land sections were reserved for ' hospital purposes. Early in 193 9 a movement was commenced in Paeroa to raise a memorial to the late Nurse Pennell, who gave her life through nursing in the native camp at Narrow Neck during the great epidemic. As the late nurse will long be remeinbered- for her unselfish devotion to maternity work it was considered by. the. subscribers that the memorial would- best take ' the form of assistance towards the erection of a maternity home in Paeroa, and the sum of £345 was subscribed. ' This led to definite effort being made in this direction. The of the Nunse Pennell A Memorial Fund wrote direct to the Thames Hospital Board, on the matter and also approached 1 the Borough Council. This letter to the Board was dated October 7, 1919. The Board replied on October 13, 1919, that “ The Board wifi give it their favourable consideration, after your committee have fully submitted your proposals ajid requirements.” On the 26th January, 1920, the committee replied.- giving details of the position ' at that date. On February 9th, 1920', the Board replied requesting tlie sec-.' retary of the committee to arrange a conference in Paeroa. This was subsequently arranged and held in Paeroa on August 10, 1920, the Board members being present. It was there stated that the follow 1 - ing contributions,, on which a Govern--1 ment subsidy would be paid, would be landed over tri the Board if a maternity home was erected ■ (1) The Pennell Memorial Fund,which ultimately amounted to approximately £3'45. (2) The balance of the Hauraki Comforts Committee Fund, which realised '£259 2s 'sd. , ’ ■ (3) The funds of the Ohinemuri Hospital Trust, which amounted to , approximately £9OO and approximately one acre of land,. I have recorded carefully these details because I wish to ’show that up / tilt this ’ time the Department of Health had nothing to do with t'he proposal. It emanated in. paeroa, took definite form, and was fathered by the Board before; the'department knowledge of the matter. / Subsequently the Director-General visited Thames and Paeroa,'where he inspected the site and suggested the purchase of additional/Hand and the closing of certain streets for inclusion in the site.' The extra, land was purchased by the Ohinemuri hospital Trustees and the .streets closed by •. the Council and vested, in. the Board. Formal application was made to the Board.on November 30, 1920. Under date of December 9, 1920, the Board wrote to the Mayor of Paeroa saying that the application had been for; warded to the Hon. the Minister .of Health for his consideration. Intimation of the .approval of the Minister vtas forwarded to the Board under date December 24, 1920. At this date, over seven years ago, the Hospital r ßoard was definitely committed to the erection of this maternity hospital, and the various freewill contributors at once set to work to carry out their undertakings to hand over their assets . to the Board. ' Under date of March 10, 1922, the Thames Hospital! Board forwarded to the chairman of the Ohinemuri Hospital Committee a resolution passed by the Board at a meeting held on March , 8, 1922, which contained the following words: “That the Board will proceed with the erection of the maternity arid casualty hospital, in Paeroa when the monies hrid land promised by t’he Paeroa organisations are paid over and vested in the .Board.” Difficulties, however, proved considerable, including special legisla,Ytion enable the streets to be closed ' and vested in the Board and Supreme Court proceedings to enable the Ohinemuri Hospital Fund to be handed to the Board. A scheme waS, however, finally drawn up by the Board’s solicitor and the solicitor to the Ohinemuri . Hospital Fund Trustees for’the transfer of the assets and responsibilities of the Trustees.to the Board. This was arrived at by agreclygnt between the par ties; and an ord.er was made under the hand of Mr Justice Stringer and dated February 24, 1924, which contained the following clause:— “That the said Board shall erect on > the land' forming the real property . held'' by the Trustees ' a Maternity C Home containing six beds and a Cas- ' ualty Ward containing two beds, etc.” On January 30, 1924, the Board wrote to this Council as follows : “I am. directed by the Board to inform you that the scheme re the above was I. approved by the Judge of the Supreme Court, subject to the amendments made by Mr Tuck and Messrs Miller

and Son, solicitors. The Board would be pleased if your Council .will instruct their solicitor to take the necessary steps, to have the monies and lands, handed over, so as to expedite matters in connection with the scheme.” On November 7, 1924, this Council wrote to the Board advising that the necessary' legislation had been passed, and that the undertakings of the local, organisations had been completed. Notice of intention to levy a rate to produce £l5OO for the year 1925-26 and £lsoo' in 1'926-27 to provide the total capital contribution from the hospital district was issued by the Thames Hospital Board on February, 3, 192.5, and the levy waj duly made in those year’s- Plans were prepared, and a few months later alternative tenders were called, and in August, 1925, the Hospital Board recommended to the Minister the acceptance of a tender in- wood. The department asked for the acceptance of the ‘lowest brick tender, and the matter; was held. up. In the following April the personnel of the Board changed, and a policy of procrastination has 1 been followed since that time. The position is that the Board have had handed to them for the erection of this Paeroa hospital (1) ’Approximately 4 aerqs of land and buildings in Paeroa valued at least £2500 ; (2) cash donation from Paeroa, approximately £624 16s; (3) Government subsidy on local donations, £1714 3s 5d ; (4) Government subsidy on local capital levy rate, £3OOO ; total, £7833 19s sd. To- this amount must be added th.e capital levy . collected by way of rates over the hospital d'strict. of. £3OOO, making a total of £10,838 19s sd. Disbursement less interest, etc., has amounted , to ,say, £BB 19s sd, leaving £10,750'. So that the Board are holding today in round figures approximately £8250 in eash and .land valued at £2500 for the purpose of erecting this hospital, towards which the .ratepayers of the district have been called upon to find £3OOO, the Government have found approximately £5300, and local, contributions, sonip £2600. This total, sum is sufficient to erect and equip the proposed institution. 1 think that the local! people have made a -most creditable contribution ; while the Government have found the greatest amount.. l’ make this statement because some publicity, has been given tb the matter in which extravagant criticism has been levelled against the Direc-tor-General of Health, including the use of the wprds “most glaring act of mall-administration.” Many burgesses haye during the last few days asked me to make some statement on the matter because . it is known locally what the real facts are. Those that are here recorded can be proved 'by documentary evidence. I have carefullly avoided making any attack on the Thames Hospital Board, Save to state that the policy of the Board for some time -has been one of procrastination. This ha£ apparently changed in the attitude of some mem'bers to open hostility and avowal of opinions to the effect that the proposed institution is .unnecessary. It may be that some members of the Board even now are not acquainted with the history I have related; but as a responsible public body they stand possessed of considerable assets held in trust for a specific purpose, in the of which the Board has been an active agent; and the one thing which the Board cannot be alllowed to dq is to ignore the responsibilities of its trust and prevent the assets being used for the purpose for which they have been created. The facts can speak, but may I say that it was plainly the duty—probably an unpleasant one—for the DirectorGeneral to insist that an altogether impossible position should be terminated, and the obvious duty of the Board discharged. He is to .be congratulated on the stand taken;, which must protect what is best in the reputation of public-elected bodies under the British constitution. It is much to be regretted that this controversy savours of parochialism ; and in this connection I wish to tell • the people of Paeroa that I-tdld ihe Director-General, three months ago that if he considered that the institution was unnecessary ; that a mistake had been made in its proposal ; that its erection would be contrary to true welfare of the Dominion as a whole, I as Mayor of Paeroa would have nor thing more to say in favour of its erection. And I am confident that this attitude refleetsl tc> the mind of the majority of the people of Paeroa and district.” On the motion of Or. E. Edwards, seconded by Or. F* E. Flatt, the report was approved, and it was resolved to forward a copy to the Director-Gen-oral, and at the same time pAaee on record sincere appreciation of the interest lie had taken in, the matter. In endorsing the resolution the Mayor said that he hoped the statement would vindicate the DirectoiGeneral. The speaker said he had been part'cu'larly careful not to attack the Thames Hospital Board or any of its members, and the statement .had been prepared with a. view to it being widely; read 1 with interest, and also be the means of bringing the question to a satisfactory conclusion. When the wide powers given, the Di-rector-General were considered, and the iserious steps he might be forced into taking, his reluctance couild be readily realised ; but at the same time the people of Paeroa and district were entitled to some finality. The I facts and figures quoted in the stateI ment had been carefully checked by Cr. P. E. Brenan, the council’s representative on the Hospital Board, and j

he had vouched for their correctness. In support of the Mayor Cr. Brenan said that he.co.uld substantiate the correctness of the statement, which he Relieved would have the effect of clearing the Director-General of the unfair criticism levelled at him by some of the members of tlie Hospital Board. Unfortunately the impression had been created that the DirectorGeneral “was wielding a big stick,” and was not justified in so doing as far as tlie Paeroa Hospital was concerned. The Mayor’s statement supported the need of a hospital at Paeroa as being in the interests of the sick and suffering of a large district. It was a great pity that some of the board members, in attempting to draw a red herring across the trail, had made unfair comparisons with reference to their estimates for the maintenance of the maternity hospital. He ventured to say that from- his close and intimate knowlelge of Paeroa and district, when the hospital was erected the maintenance costs would be no greater proportionately than any other similar institution in the Dominion. The resolution wab carried unanimously.