HEALTH FIRST

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 226, 20 June 1931, Page 6

HEALTH FIRST

Hospitals Sign of Failure

BAD TEETH AND DIET Sir Truby King Interviewed Dominion Special Service. Christchurch, Juno 19. Open-air schools, the health of mothers, the problem of bad teeth, and the harm caused by inadequate diet were matters referred to by Sir Truby King in the course of an interview here to-day. “The wisest saying concerning unemployment was made twenty or thirty years ago by Horsfall,” said Sir Truby King “Horsfall said in effect: 'lllhealth means to the ordinary family unemployment; unemployment means discontent and morbid thought and feeling; .and morbid thought and feeling lead to loafing, vice, and crime.’ “Let us be heartily ashamed of all our hospitals; any hospital is a confession of failure," Sir Truby continued. “The maintenance of health should come before the prevention of disease, and the continued existence .of disease is a reproach to us. We have come to accept such things as the decay of the teeth as inevitable. The farmer does riot calmly accept such a disease as footrot among his sheep, and content himself with doctoring. His method is to alter for the animals those conditions of their life that have caused the disease. Prevention rather than cure is the essential Open-air Schools. “It is a perfect joy to those who want the youth of the community to have strong, healthy bodies and minds to see the Fendalton and other openair schools. No one can fail to have some idea of the frightful waste of money in the past ten years in putting up school buildings far more expensive than the simple open-air 'shacks.' The pretentious buildings are anachronisms: what is wanted is simplicity in these things. “For the next few years it is going to be a virtue to be economical, and it is not going to be a virtue to spend public moneys on expensive and elaborate buildings. - People should not let their civic pride run to the erection unnecessarily of costly public buildings. ' ; . ’ Health of Mothers.

“If there' were Open-air schools throughout Canterbury there would be fewer premature births,” Sir Truby King continued. “The question of the treatment'of premature births has been tackled by the Blanket Society. The percentage of’deaths among the-prematures is amazingly low at the Karitane' Hospitals, arid conspicuously so in' Christ? Church, arid the survivors do amazingly well afterward. • . ■ “However, I' hope, that in the near future the improved health; vigour; arid preparedness of the . mothers will prevent their babies being born prematurely. The fact of being born too soon is not only ■' a grave handicap to the baby, but the expense and trouble of rearing during the early stages is at least ten times as great as where the child is born at full term.

“An important factor of the work is that dealing with the pre-school child, as well as the child. at school. I am glad to know that of the ten Plunket nurses employed by the .Christchurch committee, one is devoted entirely to the pre-school child. There is no doubt that she is getting' through a. maximum of work, and giving a maximum of benefit —and more should be done. The Plunket nurses have always dealt with the . pre-school child, but the burden of their work with the infant in the most important period of its life, viz., from birth to two years of age, prevents them from doing all they would like to do in the later period. “The problem of bad teeth is universal in the civilised world. It is affected largely by the treatment of the child in its first two years and afterward. A very large proportion of the foodstuffs used both by children and adults is very inadequate and harmful. Much more raw fruit and vegetables should be eaten and the daily use of wholemeal bread should be universal. “I want to dispel from the minds of the public altogether the idea that New Zealand children suffer appreciably from rickets compared with the rest of the civilised world,” said Sir Truby. “But they r are suffering in nutrition—in common with the rest of the civilised world — from' the effects of defective hygiene, including insufficient .outing and exercise during the pre-school and school age.” - Every normal child should be taught to-take, and actually like, a cold bath, shower, or sponge. If people said they could, not stand cold baths, then they could hardly be in really perfect health. Adjacent to every school there should be a swimming' bath, and every simple facility necessary to ensure the health of the children. There was difficulty in the matter of the financial aid that could be given by the Government to various humanitarian societies and institutions —such as the hospitals; but fortunately the successive Governments of New Zealand for nearly twenty years had botli realised and recognised ' that the Plunket Society’s work was really a national matter. He felt sure that, whatever Government was in power, the Plunket Society would always receive its necessary subsidies. The difficulties of the society were also due to the fact that there was special need for its aid in times of adversity such ns the present. ~ , The Plunket Society could not do more for the pre-School child until the Government provided the funds to enable it to deal with the situation. Members of Parliament should realise that it was a matter of tremendous importance. The Government should make adequate financial provision for safeguarding children throughout the pre-school age; and if this were done it could rely on the Plunket Society to co-operate through its nurses, The society would like to work in closer co-operation with the Health Department and the Education Department; they should not be watertight compartments.' - Educated public opinion was wanted.