OUTPATIENT SERVICE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 12 March 1941, Page 2

OUTPATIENT SERVICE

MINISTER’S STATEMENT. REPLIED TO BY MR. MOODY. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) AUCKLAND, March 11. Replying to the Minister of Health. Mr. Nordmeyer, on the question of the free outpatient service, the chairman of the Auckland Hospital Board. Mr. Moody, said: ‘■Unlike certain Cabinet Ministers, I wish to state that I have neither the time /ior the inclination to sulk when I do not get my way or when I am not capable of making up my mind on a definite course of action. I have not yet received official advice whether the remaining members of the Hospital Boards’ Association executive have, as stated, made satisfactory arrangements with the Government, and personally I would prefer to wait till I have this statement from the association itself, because I do not intend to accept the Minister’s bald and, to my mind, unconvincing statement.

“It may be that his statement is as accurate as his remarks concerning the general body of medical practitioners accepting the Government's medical benefits plan. “The threat to require the Auckland Hospital Board to refund any outpatients’ service fees is, of course, a matter of responsibility of the Government or Minister, who will act quite wrongly, I think, in making the board do something which is contrary to corhmon-sense methods. Instead of the Minister wasting his time dealing with this type of regulation why does he not get on with the job, and if he has that conviction which he alleges he has, let him bring the necessary regulation into effect to compel the hospital boards x to give their outpatients free treatment. If this is done then the board can act in full compliance with the law and not risk having its actions questioned by the auditor. “Once again I do object to the Minister or department attempting to use the Hospital Boards' Association as a means of 'implementing' the full policy of the Government.” GREY HOSPITAL BOARD. AGREES TO CO-OPERATE. GREYMOUTH. March 11. The Grey Hospital Board tonight unanimously agreed to co-operate with the Department of Health in free outpatient treatment under the Social Security Act. The department advised the board of Ministerial approval of a renewal of agreements with medical associations, of which there are a large number in the district. It was stated by the board's secretary that renewals wore now under discussion in view of the free scheme, and members stated that some associations were seeking arrangements for free treatment by specialists, apart from the free out-patients’ scheme, also free use of ambulances, which is not covered in Ihe scheme.