HOSPITAL CHARGES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 198, 25 September 1909, Page 6

HOSPITAL CHARGES.

THE STRATFORD SYSTEM. INSPECTOR-GENERAL AND DR. PAGET. A special meeting of the Stratford Hospital and Charitable Aid Board was held on Wednesday for the purpose ol considering communications Ycceived from the medical superintendent and i the Inspector-General of Hospitals, and the matter was discussed in committee. Dr. Paget, at the request of the Board, was also in attendance. DR. r-'AUETS LETTER. The following communication from the medical superintendent, Dr. T. L. Paget, was read:— "Dear Sir,—On September 10th, 1909, at a meeting between the members of, the Hospital Board and Dr. Valintiue, Inspector-General of Hospitnls, at which 1 was present, the method of payment io me for surgical operations came up for discission. The present agreement between myself and the Board is that I receive a yearly salary as medical superintendent of the hospital, for whijli salary I undertake all Ordinary medical and surgical attendance upon patients admitted to the hospital, including all operations upon tltose who are not in a position to afford to pay such fees as would be charged for operations do'ae outside the hospital; for operations upon patients able to pay ordinary fees I I am entitled to charge the Board a I reasonable fee, which fee they, in turn, charge the patient, and upon collecting such fee, pay me, the failure to collect the fee by "the Board absolving them from all liability to me.

"During the discussion of this arrangement, which is not to Dr. Valintine's liking, I asked Dr. Valintine to state his reasons for wishing to force the Board to alter it. Dr. Valintine, unable or unwilling to advance any valid reason for forcing the change, fell Back upon his real or assumed authority, which I cannot say, to dictate terms to me. As a servant of the Board I recogn'*c no authority outside the authority of the Board, and had Dr. Valintine been "■"ntent to impose his authority upon tliv Board, and had chosen to ac<i'|it it, I should have no cause for coin- ■ liMit. I recognise that the Board arc th re to make reasonable terms for the r,;rpayers; I am there to do the same

' ;• myself. Had Dr. Yaliiitinc been con;ic to advise the Board and give good 1 sound reasons for desiring a change '''■>. he agreement between us, I doubt i- i we should have come to a mutual ■•• '-cement upon any changes which Dr. '•'■■lintine showed to be necessary. ])i. Valintine, however, in reply to my request to state his arguments in proof of his statement that the present ajrangements must be changed, replica: 'lam not here on my defence. I state that as an honorable man you have on',y two courses open to you, either to ae<■'i>t a salary in full payment of all services rendered by you or resign your ■position.' "I most «mphatically denounce the cMrcet insinuation east upon me by that statement that I cannot, as a man of honor, retain my position on the present terms, as unfounded and unjust. Whether the terms are mutually equitable or not I am willing to discuss, but that terms made openly and without concealment or subterfuge are dishonorable to either party to tiiora, I emphatically deny. As I have stated before, I do not recognise Dr. Valintine's authority over me, and as a ratepayer I should question his right to impose terms upon my representatives, the Board; but as your servant, I feel, in face of Dr. Valintine's statement, that it is incumbent upon me to offer to terminate an agreement which that gentleman states f cannot as a man of honor retain. I therefore offer you my resignation, feeling sure that whatever difference there may be as to the terms of our present agreement, the Board will, as they always have done, recognise that my actions have been at least open and honorable. "Should the Board feel that it is incumbent upon them to accept Dr. Valintine's dictum and terminate the present agreement, I shall retire from the position of medical superintendent of the hospital with the best of snndwill inwards that institution, which I have used my utmost endeavors to re-mh-r adequate to the needs of the district and pleasant to those using it, and with nothing but the kindest feelings to wards the Board, both individually and collectively, knowing that they" ha ve always acted in an open and reasonable manner, and that our relations hate always been pleasant even when we differed." DR. VALTXTIXE'S VIEWS.

\The following letter, dated 14th September, from Dr. Valintine, InspectorGeneral of Hospitals, was also read:— "In further reference to the conversation I had with the members of your Board on the 10th instant, I have the honor to point out that the practice of paying your medical superintendent additional fees for treating patients in the public hospital who are, in the opinion of your Board, in a position to pay, is contrary to the spirit and intentions of the Hospital and Charitable Institutions Act, 1908. I thoroughly recognise the difficulties with which your lUiard is faced in connection with this matter, but by allowing extra fees to be charged by the medical superintendent in addition to the salary paid by your Board a precedent would be established which might pave the way to considerable abuse."

After considerable discussion the following motion was agreed to:—"That before accepting the offer of Dr. Paget's resignation he be asked whether he is willing to accept £250 per annum in full payment for his duties as medical superintendent as defined by the bj laws, with an assistant at £75 p«r annum,"

Dr. Paget asked for a little time wherein to consider his reply, and it was resolved that a meeting be held on 2nd October to receive his decision.—Stratford Post.