ACTION DEMANDED

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 262, 5 November 1930, Page 9

ACTION DEMANDED

ST. HELENS HOSPITAL.

SERIOUS CONGESTION.

AUCKLAND M.F.'S CONCERNED.

LEASE OF BUILDING SUGGESTED

Considerable concern at the present congestion at St. Helens Hospital was I expressed by Auckland members of Parliament when interviewed on the subject this morning. The opinion was unanimously expressed that immediate action should be taken by the Health Department to deal with the position, emphasis given the statement that' the Government would have the support of all sections ill the House in providing money for the provision of additional accommodation. One suggestion advanced was 'that as a temporary expedient the Department should lease suitable buildings for the treatment of the overflow cases. "The object of St. Helen's.in the first ■ place -was to give services that were being demanded by people who*did not ' seem to be able to obtain the attention they needed, and there appears to be a tendency on the part of the Government to evade responsibility in that matter," said Mr. M. J. Savage (Auckland West). "It is rather a pity," Mr. Savage added, "that this question did not crop up while Parliament wa3 still in session, as it would then have received greater publicity, and the Government would have had an opportunity of defending /its inactivity. It seems to be no one's responsibility. The Government" appears to b*e anxious to put the responsibility on the Hospital Board, and the .hospital boards are entitled to feel that it is not . their immediate responsibility. The St. Helens institutions were taken up by the Government in the first place, and were established for the special purpose I have referred to; and it is not too ' much to, expect the Government to provide whatever facilities are necessary for carrying on these hospitals. Expenditure Must Be Faced. "The Government, howeveV, apparently, is content to allow matters to drift. We cannot stop expenditure, just here.' It has to be either local or .national expenditure; all we have to concern ourselves with is whose responsibility it is; I say it is the Government's responsibility, and that whatever , expenditure is necessary will have to be faced. Money must be expended, and " the facilities provided. The Government need not worry about the support they would "receive in that direction. I am satisfied there is. not a member of the House who would oppose such expenditure. Therefore why should the Government be backward in undertaking it-?". ■ ■ ;. The Best "Migrant." • In the opinion of Mr. J. S. Fletcher (Grey Lynn), the question was one demanding urgent attention. If New Zealand were to progress, he said, it must have population'. - Immigration had been curtailed,, and the Dominion must look to , the children born here as its most valuable migrants. It was not a matter of making the road harder for mothers, but of making it easier, and there was not,a tittle of justification for restriction of public expenditure, even in times' of economic stress, ■on any matters affecting the health and welfare of the mothers and children of New Zealand. Any such policy simply involved false economy. 1 Instant Action Urged. "1 am.very concerned to notice that v St. Helens Hospital, by reason of lack of accommodation and staff is unable to serve the purpose intended by its great founder," said Mr. H. G. R. Maeon (Auckland Suburbs). "It seems a curi- . ous commentary, on human progress to learn that, after a great man has taken the initiative and overcome all the difficulties and antagonisms which require to be surmounted in making a new departure, and has solved the problem of maternity care for his age and generation, we cannot eveiynaintain the ground that he gained for us. The condition of affairs disclosed by the article in the 'Star' is one that should not have been allowed to arise and calls for instant action on the part of the Minister of Health." Temporary Relief Measures. , Mr. A. Harris (Waitemata) said it appeared to bo imperative that "some additional provision should be made for those maternity cases unable to find accommodation at St. Helens. "Even in normal times," he added, "the available accommodation seenis to be fully taxed, out in such times of stress as the coun- ' try is now passing through, it is not surprieing that a greater number of expect, ant mothers are seeking admission. It seems to me that it might be possible to ' treat more patients in their own homes /until such time as additional buildings are erected, or it might be possible for the Department to lease further build.ings in the meantime. "I understand there is no scarcity of Maternity nurses, both in our public institutions and privately employed, so, if this is the case, temporary relief measures should not be impracticable. To sum up, an obligation is placed on "toe Health Department in this matter, Md I ara q u ite sure I can speak for every member of Parliament when I say that any additional expenditure that fflay be necessary to make ample provision for every woman seeking , St. Helens treatment will be willingly and, . indeed, anxiously, approved.". A change in control was suggested by %. W. J. Jordan (Manukau), who said that St. Helens hospitals should be Placed under the hospital boards. If that were done, the board would be able to meet circumstances, such as the present, as they arose, and in the second Place the question of training of nurses would be in the hands.of the one body. "If it were not for the present regrettable depression and feeling of insecurity in the country," added Mr. Jordan, "the position that has arisen at Si Hele ns should be welcomed by us as a % nation, providing we give a feeling oi "security to the mother.. The nation shbuld gladly expend money on the work °f St. Helens; there should be no saving of expense in connection with 'the provißion of proper accommodation and .treatment" C "Must Be Done." Describing the position as being not only unsatisfactory but serious, Mr. W. & Parry (Auckland Central) declared that some provision, even if it were only temporary, must be made to meet requirements. The Health Department should take immediate action in that .direction. "There should be- no question of not being ablo to do it," added ■Mr. Parry. ?'The work simply must be Jta&* .v \.•■■■' ' '