40% UP

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 53, Issue 32420, 19 April 1944, Page 5

40% UP

THAMES HOSPITAL LEVY DECISION OF THE BOARD . maintenance costs rise The estimates for the Thames Hospital for the coming year, adopted at a meeting of the board on Tuesday provide for a total expenditure of £55,885 for maintenance and £16,485 for capital work and will involve an increase in the levy of 40 per cent. The levy will be increased from .43d to .60d in £ on the capital value. The net estimated expenditure i £33,260 4s 9d. The Government subsidy is increased this year from s 7d to 18s lid in the & and the total levy will be sB d, made UP £9400 maintenance levy and £7477 ids Id capital levy., . Main items of capital expenditure are £13,700 for reconstructing and equipping the base hospital at Thames and £2700 for additions to the nurses home at Waihi. Estimated expenditure on institutional maintenance, with details of the amounts actually spent last year in parentheses are as follow: Thames Hospital, £30,700 (£30,2x5 Is 3d). Homes, £9OO, (£792 18s 8d). Waihi Hospital, £10,500 (£9348 7s Paeroa Hospital, £l6OO (£1435 Is ld>). Coromandel hospital, £5500 (£4614 15s 4d). Mercury Bay Hospital, £1750' (£1274 14s ■s<i). The chairman (Mr P. E. Brenan) said that although the rate had been increased to .6d, in actual fact . _ of this amount had been already collected by most local bodies last year so that the rate would be .475 d where this had been done. Details of the levy on contributing bodies compared with the figures for last year are as follow: ' Thames County, £1934 17s (£l3B- - 4d). lOhinemuri County, £2579 17s 6d (£1845 Us 4d).. Thames Borough, £1748 12s Id £1249 Is). Hauraki Plains County, £5BlB 4s 2d (£4163 12s 9d). Waihi Borough, £1843 2s 8d (£1238 19s). Coromandel County, £1529 17s (£llO2 0s 4d). Paeroa Borough, £1423 19s 4d (£1023 Is 4d). The cost per occupied bed per day for the various hospitals in the board s are are as follows with last year’s figures in parenthesis:— Thames, 15s 2di (14s lid); Waihi, 12s 3d (13s 4d); Paeroa, 16s 9d (19s 3d); Coromandel, 14s lOd (12s 4d); Mercury Bay, 16s (15s 7d). Chairman’s Report The report of the chairman, Mr P. E. Brenan, read as under: — “I have the honour to present to you my report on the financial transactions of the board for the past year and the estimates for the coming financial year. During the past year, we have, in common with other hospital boards, 'been faced with the difficul.ies arising through shortage of staff, shortage of accommodation and increasing costs. At the present the staffing position is satisfactory excepting for trained nurses, and as a further six are required this particular shortage is rather serious. I have to place on record the board’s appreciation of the assistance rendered to it during the year by the National Service Department and the Manpower Officer and his staff, and also the Department of Health through the Civil Nursing Reserve. “The question of accommodation both for patients and staff has now been under review for more than a year: shortage of accommodation, however, has made it imperative that action be taken to remedy the position as soon as possible and with this object in view, provision has been made for the commencement of preliminary work under the Rebuilding Scheme in the, coming financial year

Receipts and Payments speaking, the board’s receipts and payments for the pajt year were kept within the limits imposed by the estimates, and where the expenditure was greater than estimated, this has been offset by increased fees receipts. The board commenced the year with a credit balance of £6OO 16s lid capital and £827 18s 5d maintenance, a total of £1428 15r 4d and completed the year with a credit balance of £lOBO 10s 9d capital and £3482 16s 6d maintenance, a total of £4563 7s 3d, an increase of .£3134 11s lid.

“The estimated expenditure for the ensuing year shows an increase of £1645 6s 2d for maintenance and this

amount is due generally speaking, to provision being made for increased salaries for nursing staff and the new award for the domestic staff. Capital expenditure shows an increase of £11,985 and this total increase is made up of estimated expenditure on the base hospital. Maintenance receipts: Estimated total £37,580 Is 6d, an increase of £3020 on last year’s estimates and brought about by the comparatively large credit item of cash on hand 31:3:44. The decreased subsidy outstanding, 31:3:44 is offset by increased estimated fees recoveries and refund due from public account. Maintenance Receipts

“Maintentance receipts.—Cash on hand, 31:3:43, £827 18s sd; cash on hand 31:3:44, £3482 16s 6d; an increase of £2654 18s Id. “Estimated fees recoveries 1943-44. £29,800; estimated fees recoveries, 1944-45, £31,000; an increase of £l2OO. Refund from the public account, £314 0s lOd, 1944-45. “The .total extra receipts estimated for 1944-45 therefore, amount to £4168 18s. lid. Offset against this amount is the reduced sum-for subsidy outstanding, £2133 4s 2d for 1944-45 as compared with £3278 16s 7d for 1943-44, a decrease of £ll4B 12s sd, leaving a net increase of £30’20 6s 6d.

“Estimated capital receipts total £1529 13s 9d, an increase of £522 17s 4d brought about by the increased credit bank balance as at 31:3:44 due to moneys received in 1943-44 being unexpended. “The total net estimated expenditure is £33,260 4s 9d made up of capital £14,955 6s 3d arid maintenance £18,304 18s 6d and in accordance with the provisions of the 4th. Schedule of the Act, this is apportioned between the contributing local authorities and the consolidated fund as follows: —Maintenance levy, £9400' 16s Bd, capital levy £7477 13s Id, total £16,878 9s 9d; maintenance subsidy, £8904 Is lOd, capital subsidies, £7477 13s 2d, total £16,381 15 s Od. “The total rateable capital value of the hospital district is £6,573,768 and a levy of .6d per £ on rateable capital

value together with, the Waihi borough special contribution of £443 Os lid will produce the required amount. “The rate of levy for last year was .4Bod per £ of rateable capital value and on this year’s estimates allowance has been made for a special levy of approximately .25d to cover the extraordinary capital expenditure on the reconstruction of 'the base hospital.

.“Last year I recomm ended to the board to strike a special levy of .125 d to provide for a fund for this expenditure and had this been done our levy for last year would have been .555 d and for this year .475 d. In point of fact the levy this year for maintenance expenditure is .327 d as compared with .364 d last year, a decrease of approximately 10 per cent. Capital levy for 1944-45 is .273 d compared with .066 d last year, approximately 400 per cent, increase. The general levy for both maintenance and capital, viz., .6d is an approximate increase of 40 per cent, over last year.

“In framing the estimates for the year we have been forced to reduce the allocation for various items of maintenance expenditure to counteract the increase in other items and to partly offset the large increase in capital proposals, but I feel sure that with careful administration and the co-operation of the administrative officers of the board’s institutions, the service rendered by the board to the public will maintain its present high standard.

“Before concluding I would draw the board’s attention to this anomaly: This year the board is making the greatest claim on the contributing local authorities that it has ever made, but in spite of this the rate of subsidy for maintenance purposes Is only 18s lid per £. “In conclusion, gentlemen, I would like to thank the board’s executive officers and the staff under their control for their cheerful and loyal cuoperation during the past year.”