CONSUMPTION

Evening Star, Issue 15281, 5 September 1913, Page 2

CONSUMPTION

SANATORIUM TREATMENT. A CRITICISM. Dr Marshall Macdonald had soma, thing to say at last night's meet, nig of the Hospital Board in r«spect to the present system of sanatoria for the treatment of consumption. Tin discussion arose out of the following clause i)i r tbo Sanatorium Committee's report: "Your committee recommend that th« sketch plan by tbfl architects, showin/ proposed additions td the Pleasant Yah ley Sanatorium on lines suggested, be approved, and forwarded to tlie department m Wellington, the estimated cost of such improvements being £12,000."' The adoption of the report was move«* by Mrs Jackson and seconded by Mr J K Gumming. Dr Mncdoiiald said it staggered him te see that the committee proposed to spenc! so much money on the. sanatorium, b*» cause, after all, sanatorium treatment was only on its trial. It had not, so far, been established that sanatorium treatment ws« the best for consumption. At Home th« authorities were divided ns to the advi# ability or the. use of it. Before thev went into tho question of spending so" much money on the extensions of the. sanatorium they ought to hnvo a full report of the work that had already been done nt th« institution Ite s poW with a ccit.-iia amount of confidence, because he was one of those who-questioned whether the san* toiium treatment would tend to decrease he amount, of consumption. Tt was true hat the treatment m the sanatorium pro. pioJoiged his capacity ns a carrier of tin berciUosis. If patients w«re simplv ts be put , n there for three or six mouth's, irf the caw might be, and allowed to spreal he infection, then he did not believe ifl the treatment. Ho thought that instead of spending money m tho wav indicate! they should get the State to spend money in tlie out-patients' department, whore th« nurses helped those who left the snn*, 100 beda had been sufficient for tho Ho* pual, and now they had 40 beds for consumption alone. Ho thought (hat the ouch. tion should be faced, ami faced bravely, and that was the keeping of better c'ontml over tho** who suffered from consumption, rhey ought-to be under tin control of th« State, and they ought to be licensed anl visited by State nurses and doctors. H* thought that more good would bo done in w!n Wa / i by f^B/>* t'wy <*id not* handle food and clothing used bv other people. There had been a case" in the tnineain Hospital where a man suffering from consumption had said that ho coulS not stay in an institution because he had a wile and family to provide, for. H a went out to work, and Worked as a coofe In ? n f c °\ . thc cheaper restaurants. That' sort of thing must lead to the spread oj the disease. He thought that they should! get a return of the cases treated at the sanatorium showing how they were foU owed up ? nd what knowledge the board had had of the cms after tliey had g oi,» from the Hospital. Tho sanatorium*ha! been in existence for some years, but com. pulsory notification had been in existence for only three years, and*the figures for the three years for Otago were as follow, —tint year, 92; second year. 76; thirl year, 105. Those figures showed that there must bo some fault somewhere. ]}t might be that more cases were being reported, but that would not explain it all/because « man with consumption must sooner o£ later conic under the notice of some doetorv v!± J T lb *y ] )t «»""> an increase in on. year of nearly 100 per cent, over the figures for the previous year. There was another aspect of the case, and that was that nil oyer the world bacteriologists were w^rl* \H «??•? H arn^ e at 50mo mc «"S *it* the object of curing consumption. Th« iiiedniann treatment was brought in fof a time, and it had not been successful s<j ar,.t,ut ho thought that bacteriologist* lines of the Friedman.! treatment that hould be followed. He believed that they ZTuZ, r ° f gettin <? treatment on the lines of Iftedmaan, and ho therefor* \ did not think it wiso for the board tc spend money on bricks and mortar and housing. He would like, before the pla~.it were gone.on with, that a report shoull be made on the lines he had indicated, an) that some explanation should be made why the cases of consumption in Otrie© were going up by ],, aps im \ bom)fls< * ilic Chairman (Mr Walker) said that if it was proposed that the Otago board snonld spend £12,000, then ho would object to it. Dr Macdonald was not correct iv,rfi st ? tem | nt : ™» not propose! tnat the board should .spend tho monev, but that they should ask the GoTommciift to spend it It was in deference to the Government'., wishes that the matter hue been brought up. -i\ M n dc,nal^: T **>* tl,at ' Bhouli w«- VP OTernn »nt m»i it in another %\ ™ y . are ending it wronclv. .The Chairman said that while tli«* might bo anxious to ask the Government tneir intentions on tlie whole quertinn. } m thought that it, had been proved bv th« central authorities that the. wnaloriunk. t.tatment liod so far been the. most ofteo jive, and the point tho Otago board \w{ to lace, was whether they were prepared tfc treat only tho consumptive in Otago .« not. If they ww prepared < 0 take i* from outside districts then tie iwoessfty arose for an increased sanatorium, it had b;?en brought, up alreadv at tw« conferences that suitable u-ork sliould 1* Jound for thoso who had gone through Hid amtmont at the sanatorium in order that they might recover their health. White every member of the board was anxiouf that this should ]>a carried into effect, s,)ll the position was that they had nd control over thoso patients. Thev had n© farm colony wlwre suitable work" could !» iomi-1 for thoso who had undei-gonc treat. iment. Wbilo he thought the idea of fir farm rolony a good one, thev did not havC I one. as they all knew, and tho board woiC : m tho position that they were not in* : parol to ask those who •contributed i«. | \v!>rds their funds for «.ny fnrtlirr amnurf ; in connection with the capital cxpondittut jiit the sanatoriuni. Tho Government io--1 rogiutod tliat, and they had ankod tho board to give tluun a plan rfiowinc th« sanatorium placed on a higher elevation, I hey were then prepared to let them knot? what they would do in the matter. HP Mho speaker) said it was imperative afi the present time to face the position if th€ board had only to treat their own consumptives. The. 135 patients referred! to by Hr Macdonald did not all belong t{ Utago. A large, number of thoni cantf horn outside tins district. Ho was of th« opinion that tlie question of tho treat* merit or prevention of consunibt-ion was * • national one, and that it should lie taken up by the central department. Tho Go** vermiicnt should have a farm colony i> those receiving this treatment. The VpicK tion -of notification was a most ditlicult ono »>-) far the board had no authority in cci*. nection with notification, with placing tin consumptn-cs in an institution, or airfi authority :n tho direction of keeping thorfc tlwre. The passing of the plans did no» commit, the board to a single penny <& expenditure. Thty were asked for by th« luspector-Genoral, and out? of couftesv t<j hmi they .should j.larc tho plana bc'for* him. ' .Alacdonald ; My opinion is that von are agisting the Government to inoney in the wrong direction. Tha Chairman eaid that thev had t» rnako provision for ths consumpttves torn* where. The provision at. prercnt in tho uunedm Uospitol wa* only temporarr, Sanatoria recosniicd bv the. ln» tpector-General, And, ho Mippoied, br th® medical authorities, as giving the' b*s« chance to help to overcome the trouble, and, hi supposed,'if they did not havq the eanatoria they would have to make provision in soma other way and in fcom* other place. A ward would be placefl i« the secondaiy hospital for chronics'.' Tho motion for the adoption of the re* port was then earned.