CONSUMPTION

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 14, 17 July 1923, Page 8

CONSUMPTION

UPKEEP OF SANATORIA

CONSIDERATION BY HOSPITAL

DELEGATES

A conference of delegates of Hospital Boards of the North Island was held to-day to consider the suggestion of the Health Department that the maintenance of the Otaki. and Pukeora Consumptive' Sanatoria should be taken over from the Health Department- by the North Island Hospital Boards jointly, and that the boards ehould control the institutions' named. About twenty-one hospital' bdards were represented at the conference. ■ '

The. Minister of Health, Sir Maui> Pomare. welcomed the delegates. He said he knew, that the members of the Hospital Board were sympathetic with" ■ those who were afflicted with tuber-; culosis, and he expressed the hoge that the Hospital Boards of' the North Island wiuld follow in the footsteps of the South Island'in regard to taking joint control of the Otaki and Pukeora Sanatoria. " '

The Director-General of Health, Dr. T. A. Valentine, then outlined the ob: ject of the conference. There were, he said, only two questions to be considered, namely, (1) as to the taking over of the consumptive sanatoria in the North Island; and (2) the question in regard to the 1 Government subsidies^ With'reference to the latter question, he was sorry to say it could not be dealt with just now. It had been "arranged tuat a deputation was to wait upon the' Prime Minister to discuss the question of subsidies on Thursday. New Zealand' stood very high in the opinion of hospital authorities throughout the world; and there was no doubt that the.hos-, pital system of this country .was becoming every day more efficient, and more popular. .Formerly hospitals were re--garded with some suspicion, but. that feeling.had now- disappeared. That was shown by the number of patients who availed themselves }of hospital treatment. But a great deal remained to bo done. The question of the treatment of .consumption was now a paramount matter. Whether or. not the delegates saw 'eye to. _ eye with the Department on the-question of taking over the sanatoria, he was sure that the boards were prepared, to assume their share of the responsibility. On, the motion 'of Sir. James Wilson (Palmerston North), Mr." P. Castle, chairman of the Wellington Board, was elected to the chair.

Mr. F. Castle, explained that, the' Act provided machinery'for the.faking over of such institutions as sanatoria, and for their joint management by the boards. J.nat system had already been adopted m the South Island. .He supposed the Government felt that the boards were the best managers of such institutions; tnat their management was .economical. In addition, it would spread . the cost over the local ratepayers as well as asking the general taxpayers "to bear a portion of the- expenditure. - . i T^t J r)l'r9ct°i--General ■'< of Hospitals sketched the history of the establishment andjnamtenance of the various 'sanatoria in both t the rNorth. and South.. Islands. He pointed, out; that the hospital boards: of the South Island had decided to erect and maintain consumptive sanatoria. In asking the" Wi-th":ialhd- boards to take over the maintenance-of the Otaki and Pukeora Sanatoria, the department was Jiot asking the boards to embark-on any capital expenditure of any moment, but w undertake, their maintenance and conduct- them .as the South Island boards 'fwt con, du°tln S s™ilar institutions ' in lnTtf/w °l Ul% D°mini-on- The actual Joss to the boards of some £6000 would be made up-to-a great extent by the' Government/subsidy. • ' vjll6. ch ™-man' < said the. first point they Had to decide 'was' whether the dele-' ft-,™ 6 of "opinion that the boards his opinion a joint hospital 35AH«? f cheme would enabl* the institutions, taken over to be .conducted as well if not better, than they, could be conducted by the Government,, and thus become part and parcel of the genthlt h t °, spltfl S7 stem-' It seemed to him that the treatment of the 1.8. cases now being dealt-with should be part and parcel pf our hospital system, and that the local bodies should share the cost He took it that the boards were n6t piepared to mcreaeed their 6bligatdons until the susidy system was altered. Apart from that, the speaker' said he was in general agreement with;the prop.o6al.of tne Department. ■ ■ • / ■ • ■ . ;** A Kerr (Whangarei) remadced that as far as his board was concerned it was.quite prepared to agree to the proposal provided'the subsidy was,' Placed on a better basis. ' Mr. S, King (Tauranga) remarked that ftis board was opposed to being saddled with the cost of upkeep of the institutions referred ■to.-vln his opinion, the cost- should be borne by the Consolidated r und. ■■■..-.

'it*£''*t S> CCh ick 'Wai P«l asked if in the event of Otaki and Pukeorabanatqna being taken over would- the Department put the building in' the same state of Tepair as .the. South Island sanatoria bwldin-s,,and would the equipt> b« fought up to date? Dr. Valmtine replied that the Otaki and : Pukeora Santaoria were now well equipped and up to date. The sanatoria in the South Island had never been under the,control of the Department. "

DEPARTMENT'S PROPOSAL OPS' ' • POSED. • •

Mr. R. B Russell (Hokianga) opposed the proposal-qmte apart from the question of subsidies—that the boards should take over the consumptive sanatoria. •He quoted the opinion of a medical officer m the North who was' opposed to sending consumptive patients to the south of the North Island M*& ; EV H-. Pot J ter 'Auckland) remarked that his board did not consider the JJepartmentfi proposal a practical one Auckland had a fine, mild climate and the board'was in favour of arranging for -the treatment of consumptive cases in its own district; in fact, they were dome that now. He opposed' the" proposal. ■ -.

Dr. Vahntme said if ; the Auckland | board was prepared to provide suitable accommodation for consumptives in its district the Department would not ask anything- ejse." ' : • ■ Sir' James Wilson (Palmerston North) remarked that,-his board- felt that it 'would not be justified, in'supporting the proposal of the Department. He proposed : "That. the conference does not approve of the proposal'of the Department to hand over the sanatoria to the various Ijospital boards.'! ' The chairman pointed out;thai such a proposal was simply a negative of the Department's proposal. A general discussion followed, the majority of the speakers strongly, opposing the Department's proposal. It -was; agreed to accept Sir James Wiaon's motion as the original resolution.

The chairman moved, as an amendment: "That the delegates present are prepared 'to recommend their boards to approve the proposal to hand over' the. Otak'i ' and Pukeora ' Sanatoria "to the joint control of the boards as'sobn!as the subsidy question is settled, and proyided the .buildings are handed over in a satisfactory condition." /Proceeding:,)