REVISION URGED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 May 1942, Page 4

REVISION URGED

HOSPITAL RATING SYSTEM LOCAL BODIES PROTEST. MATTER REFERRED TO GOVERNMENT. More was heard about the present system of hospital rating at a meeting of the Wairarapa Hospital Board today, following receipt of four letters from district local bodies (the Akitio County Council, Pahiatua, Martinborough and Greytown Borough . Councils) protesting against the increasing cost of hospital expenditure and urging a revision of the system now in force. No complaint was made about administration.

Mr J. F. Thompson said jt would even the burden if the whole cost were met out of the Social Security Fund. The growing cost of hospital expenditure was one of the features of New Zealand in the past few years. He considered the protests should be forwarded to the Department of Healthy Mr P. R. Welch, seconding the motion, said if the whole of the cost were taken over by the Social Security Department, hospital boards might be wiped out. The chairman, Mr H. H. Mawley, said the hospital rate was a tax on property and not on income. That was obviously unfair. The increased cost of hospital expenditure was a serious matter from the point of view of the ratepayers. The 'board had done everything to keep down expenses but costs kept on increasing. With the war on they could not expect anything much to be done now, but after the war he should say the ratepayers would have a very strong case for some revision.

On the motion of Mr Thompson, the board decided to forward copies of‘the letters to the Government, with a covering letter from the board, stating that in the opinion of the board the matter was of serious import' and that the whole system of hospital taxation required early revision and that in the meanwhile the payment of 6s per day per patient from the Social Security Fund should be increased.