Many suggestions on health

Press, 22 February 1977, Page 12

Many suggestions on health

PA Wellington The Women and Health Conference ended its deliberations on Friday by outting forward nearly 200 •pecific and genera) reconi■nendations for improvements ‘o New Zealand’s health sen-ices. These included suggestions f >r legislative changes, training of health workers, patient rights, preventive - health i measures, health education, research. care for the disabled, communitv services, .rhabilitation, consumer representation and modifications of rape laws, and statements on violence, alcoholism. depression and obesity. Perhaps the most con- . roversial of remits put to the conference and passed by a large majority of the 130 women present said that safe, legal, and early abortions thould be freely available to

all women as a support foi contraceptive services. Before the five-day conference. organisers said they did not want widespread discussion on abortion. It was hoped the conference could c scuss other matters relating to women’s health which might have been neglected during rhe abortion debate over the last two years. However, it was an issue always close to the surface, especially for those with strong views on the subject, such as the women who were members of S.P.U.C. or those working in family planning oi in abortion services. The conference chairman (Mrs Miriam Dell) said the remit had been put to the conference because the women had wanted it put. There had been no undertaking before the conference not to put such a remit. Other important areas had been dealt with by the con-

r.ference. There had been good, pi sitive recommendations on ■ education, patients’ rights, d T for the disabled, violence ’■ against women, and change s to legislation. J The conference passed a g.remit calling for the repeal i of la .. prohibiting homoj sexual acts between consent--3 ing adults in private. Surprisingly, to conference ;<: ervers anyway, a remit . calling for a lowering of the i age of consent was lost by . ai: overwhelming majority. | 3 It was recommended that’ 3 a patients’ bill of rights be ’ formulated for use in all hos-i pitals. and that a "widely-, i publicised readily-available complaints service be set up! 3 with adequate lay participa--3 tion.’’ . The conference also said: ■ that women should be able’ ? to choose whether to have, their babies at home or in 1 1 hospital.. There was a call for more: money to be allocated to research into women’s health needs, contraception in particular. Suggestions that, there 1 be more research on male coniraception and wider dis-1 minatic” of specific infor-' ; mation on the risks of female: .contraceptives followed from I a paper presented to the conerence by an Auckland abortion counsellor. Ms Sandra’ i Coney. One of t.w two remits given pr.ority by the conference! dealt with health education land the need to give it higher priority in Government’ i budgeting. The other called | for better and more accessible community-based health (services.