HOSPITAL FEES.

Taihape Daily Times, 23 August 1918, Page 6

HOSPITAL FEES.

INCREASED TO 355. A WEEK. til accordance with notice of motion, "Air B. P. Lethbridgc moved that the weekly fee for patients at the Wanganui Hospital should be two guineas. He pointed out that the Government almost, demanded that the fee should be raised. Mr. W. G. Bassett seconded. He said that no doubt the Board was doino - a considerable amount of service to a number of people at the cost cf the country, and they should be made to pay. If people cannot pay, •they do not, but a lot. could pay and would not. Mr Bassett instanced the case of young men who, through accidents, came down from the country and, after drawing their insurance, went arc-ay without paying their hospital expenses. The Wanganui Hospital ought to have a scale which would be more or less uniform. If .Wanganui people went into an outside iospital, the Wanganui Board had to pay two guineas, while if people from outside, the district came here, they -were charged only one guinea. The xate should be uniform. If a man could not pay he would Dot be, asked to. The Wanganui Board had no right to be spending public money for people who could pay. He stated that one. man who had been in the hospital five or six weeks with a nurse to wait on 3iim, and he should have paid more than 3s a day. A man with a family, -earning less than £4 a week ought not to be charged. Mr Battle opposed the motion. It would not make the non-payers pay. He instanced poor people who paid off their accounts by instalments. It was the duty of the State to keep the publie in as good health as possible. He was very much against the uniform Tate of 65., as this was not the time to raise the rate. Some better resolution should be brought in. When everything was so dear, was not the time when the sick and unfortunate should be taxed.

Mr. Joblin said there was no reason to think that the people of the Wauganui district were in a worse position than those in other districts who had to pay £2 2s. The charges should j he levelled up, and those who could ' pay should be made to pay. In regard to the cost of living, wages had gone up too. Mr W. Kitchie said the average cost was 35s or 37s- He gave instances of wealthy men who had been in the institution and refused to pay. Mr. E. E. Fletcher said the present "was not the proper time to raise the fees. He admitted there were a lot who should be made an example of, but there were others who denied themselves in order to pay the fees, and it was on these the increased fee would fall. Hospitals were built for those who co.uld not pay, and the Wanganui Hospital was one of the richest endowed in New Zealand. So rar as the Minister's remarks were concerned, Mr. Fletcher said that when he (the Minister) first got into the Mackenzie Ministry he was the poor man's friend; now he was the rich man's friend. He thought the proposal absolutely wrong. He did not think they would get a penny more if they did increase the fees —they might get less. Mrs. Comyns said she was the only worker at the Board's table, and if she had to pay £2 2s, she could not So it. While the war is on, with the Tiigh cost of living, the Hospital should be free.

Mr. Joblin: There is "cost of Hy-. ing" at tlie Hospital, too. Mr Hine said it "was a wrong thing to try and keep the fees down to the lowest of any hospital in New Zealand. He favoured a fee of 5s a day. At

the present time people were earning more, and could pay more. Mr. A. McGregor was against the raising of the fee.

Mr Pilkington said that if people "were only earning a small salary, thcy ■would not bs expected to pay. It was merely proposed to bring the Wangr.nui schedule up to those of other hospitals.

Mrs. Siddels strongly opposed the Taising of the fees at the present inopportune time. If the Board were more earnest to collect the fees, more ■would come "in, and she failed to see Sow it would improve the hospital to raise the fees.

The chairman, in reply, said there lad been a great deal of talk about the cost of living, but he did noTfhink this should be the only philanthropic institution of its kind in the Dominion. He intimated that he was prepared to alter his motion in the direction of making the fee 5s per day, and in this form the motion; wasvp-.it. lied by seven votes to five.