WAIPIATA PATIENTS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLVII, Issue 10805, 28 December 1926, Page 8

WAIPIATA PATIENTS

MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE.

The Waipiata Sanatorium committee met at Dunedin last week. Mr J. Matheson, having been, reappointed t Southland Board's representatiye on the committee was chairman. -Leave oi absence was granted to iVli w W. Watt, and standing orders were suspended to allow Mr Bryant to renresent the Ashburton Board. ! P lianiotcto aud Ashburton Boaids wiote regarding the made for the associated boaids ac coptin" responsibility for the maintenance of patients discharged from the sanatorium who, afterwards, while icin Central Otago had a relapse ° f reported that on December 1 there were Bj P ' rients in the institution, all of wiiom, with the exception of nine, whose co - dition was much the same, « hoi doing well or improving. He lepoiiea ha vino' visited Ashburton, where he ad examined 16 patients, six being suitaide for admission to the institution. He submitted a confidential repoit on 14 patients whose stay m the institution had been over 12 months. The secretary reported that at tne dote of the meeting the following patients were in the institution South Canterbury district 22, Southland 27, Ashburton 14, Waitaki 8, south Otago 6, Maniototo 2, Vincent 2, and one pi ivate patient. Four patients bad been discharged during the month, two with the disease arrested and two improved. There was a waiting list of 49, and m connection therewith and the P loVlsl 5 >n of further patients’ shelters the secretary read correspondence that naa passed between himself and the Direc-tor-General of Health, in which the latter expressed doubt as to the wis'dom of keeping patients in the institution for long periods. The secretary had replied pointing out that since the sanatorium had been opened J 4 patients had been discharged with the following results: Disease arrested of, quiescent 10, improved 13, unimproved 9 • while one had died from a complaint other than tuberculosis: and of these 94 patients the stay of 6; had been less than a year, while 27 had been more than that period. The secretary’s reply was appioved, and the following resolution was adopted • ‘ ‘That in view of the considered opinion of the committee and the ur-o-ent needs for further accommodation for patients the committee now press for Departmental approval to the proposed erectiom of 30 wooden shelters for the accommodation of patients. The agricultural adviser to the Department forwarded blue prints of suggested farm buildings, which were referred to Messrs Ritchie and Morgan to go into and bring forward a report as to the probable cost for the next meeting, so that arrangements could be made to have provision made tor them in next year’s estimates.