THE OTAKI HOSPITAL.

Otaki Mail, Volume XXVIII, 19 May 1920, Page 3

THE OTAKI HOSPITAL.

LEVIN BOROUGH COUNCIL OPPOSES CLOSING. (From "Horowhemia Chronicle") At Monday night'? meeting of tho Levin Borough Council a letter was read from Frank Peun, Otaki, regarding the suggested closing of the Otaki Hospital, which, lie said, would be a disaster to the entire district. As the ■ hospital representative of this district, he intended to enter a vigorous protest j against any such movement on the part of the Palmerston North Hospital Board. I

The Mayor moved that the Council was of opinion that the Otaki Hospital is serving a useful purpose, and that it would be wrong of the Board to think of closing the institution without giving it a fair trial under the Board's management; also that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Palmerston North Hospital Board and the Levin Borough representative, Mr F. Pcnn. Tho Mayor added thai he had written asking Mr Penn for particulars, and | hail been informed that the Otaki Bos- I pital regularly handled a large number of cases from the Paekakariki-Levin district, at a cost per bed per year which compared very favourably with institutions of similar size. At times there were more Levin patients there than Otaki ones, and really good work was being done. This showed that the hospital was a very necessary institu- I lion, and the Hospital Board should give it a fair (rial when it came under 1 their control. p

Cr. Parker asked if the hospital was not yet under the control of the Palinerston Board.

Or. Goldsmith stated that during the war the hospital was taken over by the Government, and had remained so up till now. The Government had now written asking the Board to lake it over as from September next. This, he thought, was not quite fair to the Board, since its estimates for the corning year had been drawn up. The Government should not ask the Board 1o take the hospital over til! the end of the financial year, which was only fair. The hospital had proved very useful to tho district, and the protest

against its closing was warranted. The motion, which was seconded by Cr. Goldsmith, was carried.

FOXTON "HERALD'S" VIEWS.

In its issue of yesterday the Foxton "Herald" publishes a leading article with reference to* what it terms "Th» Otaki Cottage Hospital.'' Seeing that the editor of the "Herald" is a prominent member of the Palmerston North Hospital Board, the article will be read with interest. It is as under:— "When tho Horowhenua County applied to be merged into the Palmerston Hospital district tho question of taking over the Otaki cottago hospital was discussed at a conference of those interested. The Board at that time did not wish to be saddled with the «x----pcuse of Ihe institution, and made that point clear. However, the Department took over the hospital and consumptive sanatorium, and the district board was made responsible for urgent district cases treated therein. From what we

can gather the Departuieut now desires 1 to throw the whole responsibility for j maintenance of Iho institution on the j Paliri'erston Board, which the latter do not feci justified in accepting. The southern portion of Ihc recently merged district is up in anus against the suggested closing of the institution. The position is that the Hoard did not object to pay for patients treated at J the cottage hospital, but beyond thatil refused further responsibility. If the 1 Board compromised itself in this matter it could not refuse the setting up of sirnilaT institutions at I'eilding, Levin, and Loxton, which would only add a j burden of unnecessary expense and mixed administration quite antagonistic to the central scheme. The Board's aim is io make the Palruerstou Hospital one of Ibe most modern and best equipped institutions in the Dominion, tor ihc benefit of suffering humanity, and surely the Otaki folk are not foolish enough to seek to perpetuate a make-shut institution where it would be impossible to give patient.- the benefit of ihc latest scientific treatment,

when an hour or two's easy travel would transfer patients to the. hospital. We hope the Otaki agitators will lake a wider view of the question."