Elderly-aid plan greeted warmly

Press, 20 July 1977, Page 11

Elderly-aid plan greeted warmly

The North Canterbury Hospital Board’s proposal to set up a new service to help the elderly has been enthusiastically welcomed among the hundreds of people and about 40 organisations providing geriatric care, private and. State, in the board’s area. The board’s decision to ask the Government for about $35,000 to help it set up a co-ordinating service is seen as a move towards- best using all available resources to help both geriatric patients — more than 2400 of them in hospitals and nursing homes — and thousands of old people receiving help in their own or relatives’ homes. The board has two alternative ways of seeking finance: It could apply to have it paid from the $2.16M the Government has designated for community health care. Since this is to be shared among 29 hospital boards, the amount likely to be available to North Canterbury would be just over $72,000. The grant is applicable for this financial year. The board, alternatively, could get the money from a direct Government

grant, which could be supplemented by private and voluntary groups. More than a year’s planning is behind the decision to set up a co-ordinator for. care of the old in the Christchurch area. The job would cover public relations, the education of the public and those working in health care, and providing information for patients, as well as coordinating all treatment and after-care of the old, including oversight of domicilary services.

When applying for the grant for community health care, the board will also ask for consideration of other requests for money for, among other schemes, an information and treatment centre for diabetics, psychiatric services for children, a geriatric day hospital, a venereal-disease . clinic, and a community psychiatric and co-ordinating service. Other requests include backing for a service to coordinate hospital-board community care and that provided by general practitioners and an alcoholic-assessment unit.