INDUSTRIAL HEALTH CENTRES’ WORK

Press, Volume C, Issue 29524, 27 May 1961, Page 10

INDUSTRIAL HEALTH CENTRES’ WORK

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON. May 26. Workers injured in industrial accidents will be treated faster. Speedy treatment is being made possible by the establishment of industrial health centres in the most heavily industrialised areas of New Zealand. The Workers' Compensation Board says the success of New Zealand’s first trial industrial health centre at Penrose. Auckland, has resulted in the construction of three others. The first specially built centre in the Wellington area is nearing completion at Petone and is expected to be in operation in September. Plans are in hand for adding to the original centre at Penrose, and a second Auckland centre at Mount Welling, ton should be operating by the end of the year. Christchurch has one centre at Woolston and a second will be opened at Hornby about June 15 Dunedin will soon have a mobile centre. Work has begun on its establishment. The centres

are financed and equipped from funds supplied by the Workers’ Compensation Board and the industrial welfare deposit account of about £300.000. The deposit account was established with the surplus obtained by the State Fire and Accident Insurance Office during the period it had a monopoly of workers’ compensation insurance between 1949 and 1951. The centres are administered and staffed by the Health Department. They can supply quicker treatment for injured industrial workers than is always available in hospital casualty departments. Besides helping relieve the pressure of work on the hospitals they will ensure minimum amount of lost time to workers who have to have dressings attended to daily and who now have to travel long distances to hospital outpatient’s departments. Two nurses will staff the Petone centre. One will use it as a base and laboratory .„ h C r P eld work - The other ul ° e . in attendance to deal with minor injuries.