Cardiac unit meeting

Press, 18 March 1982, Page 6

Cardiac unit meeting

A deputation from the Cardiac Companions Association will meet the Minister of Health (Mr Malcolm) today to make submissions for a cardiac unit to be set up at The Princess Margaret Hospital. The association has been pushing for a unit at the hospital for several years but its secretary-treasurer, Mr N. Colombus, said yesterday that the issue was now “a whole new ball game.” The three existing units were “clogged up” with patients on 17-month waiting lists and staff at the Dunedin unit had admitted they could

not cope with the patient load from Christchurch, said Mr Colombus. “This is no longer a political issue or a medical political issue,” he said. Mr Colombus will head the delegation, which will consist of Mr H. Thompson, medical superintendent of The Princess Margaret Hospital, Dr H- Ikram. head of cardiology at the hospital, and Mr P. Milthorp, a member of the association’s committee. Mrs J. Gardiner, chairman of the North Canterbury Hospital Board’s health services committee, will represent the board as an observer.