PAEROA HOSPITAL.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIX, Issue 5298, 11 July 1928, Page 2

PAEROA HOSPITAL.

BOARD ASKED TO CALL TENDERS.

MEMBERS DECLINE THE REQUEST.

Further discussion on the erection of the Paeroa maternity and casualty hospital assumed rather a lively nature at Monday’s meeting of the Thames.. Hospital Board. The subject was introduced by the receipt of a letter from the Director-General of Health, Dr. T. H. A. Va.lintiife. In noting, the- concern of the board at tlie expense the building would entail, and the cost of maintaining the hospital, Dr. Valintine pointed but that tlie actual cost of the building was already provided for, and would not fall on the board. “As to the cost of maintenance of the hospital,” he continued, “I do not consider that the expenses thereof will press so heavily on the board as to entail the levying of hea,vy additional rates, as your board suggests. As pointed out in my letter of January 6, the cos ; t of maintaining a maternity hospital at Paeroa is, only likely to involve a, net expenditure of approximately £750 per annum, more than half of which is met by subsidy from the- Government. I doubt if the actual cost to your board, exclusive of the, Government r ub/dy, of maintaining, the proposed hb;p : t.al w'll be more thaji £3OO per annum. Under, these circumstances. I must ask your board very respectfully to invite public tenders for the erection of a hospital at P.aertoa.” ; DISCUSSION BY MEMBERS. The chairman (Mr W. E. Hale) set the discussion going by remarking that it was only Another stage in the lengthy controversy. So far as the .maintenance costs were concerned-, he said the board would never agree with the department. The; board had taken out figures- on the basis of the costs of maintenance of the Thames Hospital, which institution, he contended, was run on more conservative lines than the Paeroa hospital could ever, be, and the estimates showed tha,t the loss to the board; must be a heavy one. ,In his opinion the best thing to do was to allow the, department to erect the building and accept all responsibility for, at.

This, remark brought Mr P. E. Brenan- to his. feet He said 1 that if that was the sincere opinion of the chairman he would move : “Tha.t the Director-General be advised that whilst a- majority of tlie board are against tlie- erection of the Paeroa hospital, it recognises that the board has- no alternative but to agree to the department proceeding with the erection and equipping. of the institution.”

Seconded by Mr A. R. Robinson. Thereupon Mr J. W- Danby moved as an amendment l

“Having given very careful consideration to the different-aspects of the proposal to build a maternity nsspita.l at Paeroa, this board is of the opinion that the present ,is not an opportune time to proceed with the matter, and that the proposal be deferred. Therefore, this board would- respectfully reply to the Director-General’s, letter, of June 22 that it caun’ot see its way clear to comply with he request contained in that letter to call for tenders for the Paeroa hospital.” In support of the amendment- Mr Dauby said that he wished to stress the fact that Dr. Valintine now gave it .asj ihis opinion that the loss on the proposed institution would be £750 a year. Ho,wever, the Director-Gen-eral’s estimate was too conservative ; but it was for the first time, to have the board s figures questioned.

The amendment was seconded b. Mr C. W. Parfitt.

The meeting reminded by Mr C. W. Kennedy that the board’s delegates had been' told by the Minister of Health at Hamilton that lie had not the’slightest doubt that the Paeroa hospital would be run at a loss, and that every hospital in the Dominion was run at a loss. The board had now received a mandate from the department ,that a hospital was to be built at Paeroa, and he (the speaker) was not in- favour of allowing tlie department to erect the building.

Mr Brenan Bal'd he conspdered' the amendment was not in order, and was not a reply to Dr. Valint,ine’s letter. The position as he saw it was either that the board had to call tenders or el'Sje- advise that it would not, -comply with the request The; oha'rman said that the amendment would throw all the onus on the department. ■Mr, Brenan replied that it was for the. chairman to rule, but at the same time-. he contended that tlie amendment as wordqd was a direct negative to his resolution. In the opinion of Mr E. L. Walton the amendment was not a direct, negative. He said he -had fou'ght the erection of the hospital to the last ditch, and- -now considered that the board should givq in with a, good grace while it had the opportunity. -Where ’he differed from the chairman was that he believed in, the Minister of Health, whereas, the chairman, apparently did. not. If the board did not agrep- to call tenders and erect the hospital it wa,s reasonable to suppose that it would have no say in ’ts design or appointments.

“ A PREARRANGED ANSWER.”

The chairman said, that lie would see the Minister, “well ove,-r somewhere” before he would agree to his request. When the board’s delegates h,ad met tlie Minister at Hamilton on May 30 he had given them a prearranged answer, and the Press; had been brought into the conference to make public his- statement. Mr Kennedy said it was s-mall wonder that tlie Minister’s .min.<i was made up after over two years of haggling. It was not fair of the- chairman to make such a statement about the Minister.

The chairman said hi«> opinion was correct, and contended-that the Minister should have had the courtesy to advise; the board 'of his 'decision and save the expense of going to Hamilton.

Mr Kennedy pointed out that the board, had asked for. the conference and should have known what the MHi-

ister’g reply would 1 be.

BOARD SHOULD ACT.

It was, pointed out by -Mr Brenan that if the erection, of the institution was, left to the department it would probably cost more than if the boa.rd undertook the erection. In the interests of ratepayers he thought that the board should go ahead with the building and retain some say in the erection and equipping of the hospital. As an earnest advocate for the Paeroa institution, and having, received a, mandate from the- department, he now looked for some assistance from the board members. In his opinion an hospital for Paeroa on the lines of the one at Matamata would suffice. AMENDMENT CARRIED. Tlie amendment was then put and carried, the voting being: For, Messrs Hale, Danby, Parfitt, Lange, Flett.; against, Messrs Brenan, Robinson, and Kennedy. Messrs Brenan and Kennedy requested that their votes against be- recorded. Mr Walton did 1 not vote.