TUBERCULOUS FAMILIES

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25227, 4 July 1947, Page 8

TUBERCULOUS FAMILIES

NEW FEDERATION SEEKS HOUSING? PRIORITY DR. GORDON RICH FIRST PRESIDENT (P.A.) WELLINGTON, July 3 An increase in the allocation of State houses to tuberculous families was urged by the national conference of tuberculosis associations to-day. A resolution urged that where unsatisfactory housing was shown to be a definite hazard to the health of the occupants because of tuberculosis there should be no avoidable delay in removing the hazard by rehousing families in satisfactory conditions with such Government assistance as might be necessary. The resolution also asked that each Government committee dealing with housing priorities should include a representative of the tuberculosis association of the district. The conference decided to form a federation of tuberculosis associations and the following officers were elected:—president, Dr. Gordon Rich (Christchurch); vice-presidents, Messrs W. Appleton (Wellington), W. J. Rodgers (Wanganui), and J. A. C. Allum (Auckland), Dr. G. Home (New Plymouth), and Miss M. Enright (Canterbury); council, Mr W. J. Hindman and Sister M. Miller (Auckland), Mr H. F. Low and Dr. W. A. Priest (Wanganui), Dr. R. F. Wilson and Mr G. Macallan (New Plymouth), Mr C. Meachen and Dr. G. Maclean (Wellington), Mr B. F. Anderson and Dr. I. C. Macintyre (Canterbury). Education of Public The Governor-General (Sir Bernard Freyberg) will be invited to become patron. M The conference considered that as the best possible preventive measure the public should be educated in all aspects of tuberculosis. It adopted a resolution calling for the Government to make health a priority subject in public schools, and recommending that grading should accrue to teachers from such instruction. It urged also that training colleges should be given every assistance to implement the programme. As part of the preventive scheme, Dr. Maclean urged that X-ray surveys of all people off reaching the age of 18 should be reinstated and that the Government should offer facilities for X-raying all discharged service personnel within two years of their release. The grave danger of latent tuberculosis had been brought to light in the years following the 1914-18 war, said Dr. Maclean. Servicemen from the last war had developed tuberculosis since their discharge. At the time of their release X-rays had shown that their chests were clear. The conference adopted his proposals, and agreed that the R.S.A. should be asked to support the latter scheme. Mr Meachen ssid the Government was already considering reinstating X-ray surveys of young people, and that mobile plants would probably be used.