Report of the Royal Lancaster Infirmary : 1939.

  • Royal Lancaster Infirmary. nb2010021143.
Date:
1939
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Royal Lancaster Infirmary : 1939. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    22/94 (page 14)
    division of the accounts is not only informative to the Committee and Governors, but is an essential preliminary to negotiations with the Ministry of Health for payments in respect of the cost of the Emergency fasualty Service. Expenditure is £5,728 12s. 6d. more than for 1938, due to three main increases—(i) in the tremendous amount of new work under¬ taken ; (2) in the number and rates of pay in the nursing and other Staff ; (3) in the consumption and price of nearly all food and household and medical stores, some of these last having alread}^ advanced by 100 per cent, since the war started. The average cost of maitaining a patient in the Wards, taking 1939 as a vTole, was about los. per day, as compared with 9s. in 1938. The cost to-day is even higher. Turning to the Income side, we regret we cannot report a corresponding increase in Voluntary Gifts. We recognise, however, the additional hnancial burdens which have been thrust upon all our subscribers by reason of the War, and sincerely thank all those who have continued to subscribe to the best of their ability, and the Ladies’ Collecting Committee who have worked so hard to maintain the volume of their collections. Income for services rendered to patients, quite apart from the contributions of the Government towards the emergency casualty seiwice, is substantially more. This is due to four main causes :—Improved and extended financial arrangements with local authorities in respect of work done by the Infirmary for which those authorities are responsible (mainly Maternity services and School Medical services), the revised charges to Private Patients which came into effect from ist September, the greater number of patients treated, and the increase in the amount per patient per day collected from the Public Ward Patients. I'he contribution shown as received from the Government for the emergency casualty service was an interim payment made in accordance with an agreement between the Ministry of Health and the British Hospitals Association War Emergency Committee, which, owing to the casualty service not being required to the extent anticipated, is substantially in excess of the actual cost. That excess will be recouped by the Ministry, and is shown as a suspense account with the Ministry of Health pending a settlement. The Ministry of Health have agreed to pay the Infirmary the full cost of maintenance of Service patients, children evacuated under