HOSPITAL BOARDS

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10606, 3 June 1920, Page 7

HOSPITAL BOARDS

CONFERENCE OF DELEGATES IMPORTANT MATTERS DISCUSSED AND DECIDED. ‘ The conference of delegates representing the various hospital and charitable aid boards in New Zealand and which was opened on Tuesday' in the Dominion Farmers’ Institute concluded its deliberations last evening. Sir James VVilson (Palmerston North) was in the chair.

A remit from tho department 'that the following addition be made to section 60 of the Act, was carried: "Any board may, upon such conditions as the hon. tho -Minister approves, devote from its funds, for maintenance purposes, such sum as tlje Minister may; approve towards the establishment of bursaries for students in massage or nursing/’ So also was tho suggestion that section 13 of .the Amendment Act of 1913 bo repealed. In respect to tho proposed repeal of the section of the A at, Mr Killick, secretary to the' department, said that tho Government was of opinion that boards should make levies annually according lo their requirements and not to build up funds for building purposes. No boards had in the - past built up, such funds so the repeal Would not have any direct effect upon them. . ' ■ A remit from Palmerston North, which was to the effect that local authorities be empowered to make a special rate over any legal subdivision or any district for the purpose of subsidising or payng the salary and expenses of district nurses, was agreed from North Canterbury, and Cook relative to tho Aot being amended in the direction of giving hospital board reasonable facilities for borrowing money for capital purposes, were was a proposal from Hawera-“That, the ‘Government be called upon to increase land agents license fees to a sum of not less than £IOO oaoh; that the proceeds pi such licenses be paid without deductions to iho funds of the hospital board of the district in which the license is . granted.’ It was decided that the proposal did not come within the ® c^P e °*' “ conference and could not therefore bo entertained. , , The AVhangarci delegate moved:— “That the Public Health Department undertake the preparation of standard plans and specifications _ for use in connection with all hospital buildings, that clerks-of-work be appointed, and same to be available for use of hospital boards in connection with standard pl Dr>rongley said that the departi ment was anxious to help boards in regard to plans for hospital buildings, but it could not undertake to officials all over tho Dominion for ho purpose. Assistance would willingly Eo given to boards’ architects, and in instances where a board was m a position to engage an architect plans would bo submitted. The Government was, however, opposed to standardisation of hospital building®. Tho remit irns agreed to. SCALE OF FEES.

The question of a uniform scale of patients’ foes was brought forward by Palmerston North and Wairoa. In moving the remits, Mr Hornblow (Palmerston North), said that a uniform fee was desirable. The sum of £IO,OOO was written off patients’ uncollected fees, and last year £4OOO was written off by the Palmerston North Board Ho suggested that the uniform foe bo £2 2s per week. South Canterbury moved that the fee be a maximum of £3 3s per week. The Waikato delegate, said that the fee should not bo more than £1 ls._ If patients did not pay it was a blessing in disguise, as the more fees collected

by .a boartl the less it received in subsidy. Air R. Masters, M.P. -(Stratford), said that New Zealanders were not paupers and were well_ able to pay 6s or 7e a day for their maiixtenan<» when in hospital.’ In Tafanaln the friendly societies helped' the hospital board in a large measure. The members of those societies each paid a levy of 15s annually for the payment of the hospital fees of its meml/;rs. Even during the time <of the epidemic the societies paid the' hospital fees for every member who made use of it. If other boards adopted the system in vogue -in Taranaki for allowing a patient a rebate of _ Is per pay if the fees were paid within 28 days of leaving the institution, they would collect more foes, and-not only they, but the department and the patient would be benefited. The Auckland delegate (Mr F. J. Ncrheny) said he was strongly opposed to the motion and -amendment, and condemned them oii the ground .that a fixed scale of charges would operate adversely against the larger and poorer communities. The Auckland Boaj-d distributed annually 280,000 rations besides spending £SOOO in assisting in the payment of rents. There were cases where the father of a family was in hospital, and the family was being maintained by charitable aid. Ho contended that primarily hospitals, were established for the’ poorer classes who were unable .to afford private treatment. Other delegates spoke against. fixed fees, and the proposal and amendment, upon being put, were lost. SUGGESTED AMENDMENTS TO ACT. In regard to a remit from North Canterbury suggesting that the Act be amended in such a manner as to make it mandatory for any hospital having equipment and facilities for special treatment, to accept patients from hospitals less fortunately situated, Dr Valintine said there was no necessity to “alter the Act, as the provision asked for was provided for. A proposal to amend the Act to provide that the cost of maintenance or relief granted by public institutions may be recoverable from a near relative was canned. , NURSES AND TRAINING.

Mr Stallworthy (Kaipara) moved: “That probationer nurses who have served at least ono year in a smaller country hospital shall have preference of employment as probationers in the larger institutions of the Dominion; and that at least sis months of her service in the country hospitals shall bo deemed as part of the course of her training.” Ho said that country hospitals were not training institutions, and difficulty was experienced in getting probationers to remain at those hospitals. By carrying the resolution the difficulty would he overcome. ....

, Dr Valintine 6aid that the object of the resolution was a worthy one, and it was carried unanimously. •

A resolution that aU disti-ict nurses bo double trained to induce them to go in for maternity training after they had finished their hospital training received a considerable amount of support. . Dr Valintine said that the department did its best to obtain nurses who had been doubly trained, but it was not always possible. . During a discussion on the advisability of devising a. superannuation scheme for nurses, the principal of ■which was endorsed by the conference, it was stated that nursce were as. much entitled to superannuation as wore school teachers, if not more so. Tho difficulty that presented itself was the question of making a scheme applicable. It was pointed out that the Government was drawing no a scheme which would he submitted to the hoards for its consideration. THE CONCLUSION.

Other remits carried were that venereal disease should bo made a. compulsory notifiable disease; that hospital and charitable aid boards should bo exempt from stamp duty on cheques; and ft number of policy mea-

sures brought forward by the department. A vote of thanks to the departmental officers and one to the chair- • matt, concluded the conference.