Charity Damages Hospital Finance

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 233, 21 December 1927, Page 8

Charity Damages Hospital Finance

UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM OVERDRAFT OF £30,000

S PEN h D ' NG more on charitabt, aid than it is receiving in f.« the Auckland Hospital Board uneasy about its finance. '* By the end ot the financial VM „ . estimates the overdraw * £30,000, WUI lx

The chairman, Mr. William tvlace, told the board yesterday that sum of £22,000 had been placed the estimates for relief and altlm C: four mouths of the board's year * , still to go, the sum of b already been spent. He antiem,, that expenditure in this direrrv would reach the sum of March 31. The board commenced e year with an overdraft of £l4 000 the way things were going theV L 5 finish the year with an overdraft about £30,000. «

The hospital would deal with tically 1.000 more patients this V.* than last. This meant increased . penditure, but unfortunately it did a ' appear that there would be anT**' crease in fees. The position was'tv the board was spending more in able aid than it was receiving i a WORSE NEXT WINTER Mr. Wallace lamented that nothin of a permanent nature had bethought out to cope with the uZ! ployment. Next winter things vToLu be as bad or worse. Relief wofi would come to au end, and the w! would have to start all over again? would be £B,OOO over its espen<hn>4 on charitable aid. "Draw the Government's attention, was the advice of Mr. M. J. SavJ M.P. Surely the 500 workless men Auckland at Christmas time were im the responsibility of the board. ' “The problem of the abledgefe men is perhaps the most painfnl have deal with,” said Mr Georw Knight, chairman of the Relief Cof mittee. “The majority are sennt cases, although there are parasites i : these men are not absorbed before th winter it will be far worse than th last. The problem is vital.”

Mr. W. K. Howitt declared that th time-payment system was a contrib ting factor to distress. The Relir Committee was indirectly keeping cp the time-payments of people who hat got into the black boks of grocers anbutchers.

The chairman said he had alreadv endeavoured to interview the PrimsMinister,and he would do so again.