Call for community hospital

Press, 4 December 1978, Page 6

Call for community hospital

Proposals by Christchurch doctors to convert Christ:hurch Women’s Hospital to i communitv hospital will be .'resented to a committee of the North Canterbury Hospital Board tomorrow. The Canterbunrv faculty of the College of General Practitioners believes that if the board moves the obstetrics and gvpw ologv departments to the Christchurch Hospital ri’e “within 10 vears.” the tmmnnitvhosnital proposal t’ou'd be added to the fc-j’-ri's list of other options. Only one of these has been

h studied seriously by the board so far; a proposal to turn! Christchurch Women's Hos-| 0 pita! into a long-stay geri-; e atric unit. ,f A questionnaire on the community-hospital proposal was sent to 130 doctors, of | f whom 90 replied. The community hospital e was first suggested in the s Labour Government’s 1974; s White Paper on Health. It J was proposed that a hospital; e would be staffed by general, practitioners, and would con-) ' tains beds for patients: n “whose admissions are neces-1

sitated as much by social as! iby medical considerations.”; General practitioners could; 'do obstetrics work in a com-) munity hospital. Such a hospital could help the convalescence of local) residents recovering from! surgery at “acute” hospitals.! A community - hospital, ; would also have beds for I long-stay geriatric patients, to relieve pressure on base hospitals. Christchurch doc-i ■ tors have also suggested that) a geriatric assessment and! rehabilitation unit, to serve) I northern Christchurch, could i

[be established in a corn-l ! munity hospital. A similar unit for .chronic-i 'ally sick and disabled people; I could also be provided, as! ! could a base for extra-mural! hospital services and minor! ! surgery. The most significant prob-' lems that doctors would ex- ! pect in a community hospital l include the provision of 24hour cover; the lack of time !to visit patients and supervise their care; the distance [from medical practices to the ! hospital; and the provision of [adequate back-up (paraI medical) services.

When the doctors meet the I board’s institutions committee tomorrow they will urge the board to note the strong support of Christchurch doctors for the community hospital proposal. However, they will also emphasise the need for additional study. The doctors believe that the board will have to consider the increased emphasis on primary health care and the need to relieve pressure ■on the facilities at Christchurch Hospital when it examines the proposal.