Eating-disorders clinic plea

Press, 12 June 1986, Page 9

Eating-disorders clinic plea

The Anorexia and Bulimia Aid Group wants an outpatients’ clinic in inner Christchurch for people with eating disorders. This is because people with eating disorders have to wait up to six months before they can see a therapist at the Princess Margaret Hospital. The group presented a petition of 70 signatures, and letters in support of an eating-disorder clinic at a recent meeting with Canterbury Hospital Board representatives. A report of the meeting was tabled at the board’s health services meeting yesterday. An aid group representative said that long waits for therapy meant sufferers could become very ill. Dr J. M. McKenzie, who was at the meeting with the group, said he shared the concern about the long wait, although a priority appointment could always be arranged if sought by a doctor. Princess Margaret Hos-

pital was acknowledged to be treating only those seriously ill. Dr Anna Holmes has asked for an analysis of the 300 telephone calls which the aid group received between June, 1985, and April this year, as this would give a clearer indication of the group’s workload. Eating disorders were not easy for general practitioners to treat, and so the suggestion was that the group ask the College of General Practitioners to introduce education programmes for members. The board will consider the matter further once some “hard data” have been collected by both the group and board. Day hospital Whether a psychogeriatric day hospital can be set up at Sunnyside Hospital will be investigated by the board’s medical superintendent-in-chief, Dr Ross Fairgray. Sunnyside Hospital superintendent Dr Les

Ding said that the board should try to provide a day hospital as soon as possible, using buildings which could be made available. Special funding would be needed for staffing, he said. An interim day-hospital service would enable the board to provide a comprehensive basic psychogeriatric service, relieving the pressure on acute beds, and increasing the flexibility of staffing, which would allow greater home followups. Planning an integrated service to the elderly would not be precluded. Extra staff An extra three nurses may be employed in the Christchurch Hospital accident and emergency department. The extra staff would mean that all patients could be assessed on arrival and accorded some priority, depending on the nature of injuries.

Such a change might defuse some of the difficult situations which arose at the department reception. Dr Fairgray said that one difficulty was that people waiting in the department sometimes felt ignored; they were not aware that the serious emergencies arrived by ambulance at the back door. Extra staff would ensure that “walking wounded” were dealt with as soon as possible. The extra cost of up to $125,000 had to be considered. Hand surgery The Burwood medical team which in April successfully reattached the hand of a Russian seaman was highly praised by the committee. The surgery took about 18 hours, and a unique factor was that the hand had been severed for about 24 hours — much longer than many other similar reported cases, the committee was told.