HOSPITAL CHARGES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 360, 22 May 1928, Page 16

HOSPITAL CHARGES

THAMES TALKS WITH WAIHI ADMISSION OF URGENT CASES (From, Our Own Correspondents THAMES, To-day. A deputation, consisting of Messrs. VV. E. Hales, chairman, T. Brennan, C. Kennedy and G. Tonge, secretary of the Thames Hospital Board, waited on the Waihi Hospital Board this morning and asked for a reduction in tho fees charged by the Waihi Hospital Board for treatment of urgent cases in the hospital of patients residing in the Thames hospital district. The present charge is £ 4 4s a week, which the deputation considered excessive, seeing that these fees are guaranteed by the Thames Board. Mr. Hales pointed out that friendly society patients from Waikino, which is in the Thames district, were being treated in the Thames Hospital at greatly reduced fees, because payment was guaranteed by the lodges concerned, and he considered that Thames patients should be similarly treated by the Waihi Board. Thames representatives also said that of late cases had been admitted to the Waihi Hospital as urgent which tho Thames medical superintendent did not consider urgent. As a solution to the problem Mr. Hales suggested that the Waihi Board should accept a lump sum for these cases or accept payment at the rate of 9s a day. Dealing with the lump sum proposal, Mr. J. E. Flevin, the chairman of the Waihi Hospital Boaj-d, said that, under a previous agreement, when a lump sum was accepted, the Waihi Board lost £1,300. During the discussion that followed Mr. Hales said that failing a satisfactory agreement the Thames Board would insist on being consulted before urgent cases from their district were admitted to the Waihi Hospital. The question was deferred pending consideration by the Waihi Board.