SANATORIA CASES

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 81, 30 December 1931, Page 8

SANATORIA CASES

Treatment of Tuberculosis WISER SELECTION URGED The need for a revised form of selection of tubercular patients sent to sanatoria is suggested in the annual report of Dr. R. A. Shore, Director of the Division of Hospitals, in his annual report He complains that more harm than good is caused by hospitals sendftig incurable cases to these institutions.

“It is somewhat pathetic to see the sort of case frequently sent here as ‘likely to benefit by sanatorium treatment’,” Dr. Shore says, in speaking of Pukeora Sanatorium, Waipukurau. “It would appear as if some other form of selection will have to be devised, as the reports received prior to admission do not always afford sufficient evidence of the suitability or otherwise for sanatorium treatment. “It is cruelty for patients to arrive here full of hope, and then to be sent away unimproved. They know that it is equivalent to signing their death warrant, however one may try to soften the blow by suggesting a change of climate, etc. There is, in addition to this, the psychological effect on the other patients, who discuss with bated breath the departures of those sent away unimproved. “Some hospital boards are, careful with regard to providing adequate dental treatment before arrival, but some are not so careful. Oral sepsis is only too common, and frequently retards patients very considerably. Hospital board secretaries who are on the look out for saving their boards any undue expense should see that their cases for sanatorium treatment have adequate treatment prior to leaving for the sanatorium. “The same applies to nose and throat treatment, some of which should be seen to before patients are sent here. If possible, all patients should be seen not only by a dentist, but also by a nose and throat specialist, who may possibly adopt temporary measures for relief of throat and nose troubles. Even temporary relief helps considerably, and, by reducing the days’ stay in the sanatorium, it will reduce the expense to hospital boards.”