THE DENTAL SCHOOL

Evening Star, Issue 18253, 18 April 1923, Page 5

THE DENTAL SCHOOL

OLD SCANDAL REVIVED. EXTENSIONS URGENTLY WANTED. PREMIER TO BE APPROACHED. The conditions at the Dental School, which have been the subject of debate on several occasions at the University Council meetings, were discussed again yesterday, when tho council had before it tho director’s _ anuijai report, from which the following extract has been taken:— Clinical and Practical Work.—This work, which, after all, is _ the most important or all in the training of a, dentist,' has been very much hampered for want of sufficient accommodation and equipment, tho latter, of course, being dependent upon the former. This matter has been the subject of continual reports for the past lour years, both by the acting-director (Mr 0. V. Davies) and myself since my return. Cur needs have now utterly outgrown tho possibilities of tho present building, which is by its site, aspect, and construction totally uusuited for tho purpose of a dental school, so that it is now no longer possible to give students an efficient training 'either in anical or surgical dentistry. This in itself is serious from a national point of view. In Now Zealand, where every man, woman, and child is afflicted with some form of dental disease (and it is becoming more and more recognised that this is the primary cause of many other diseases), it is necessary that the training of dentists should be efficient. It is also very necessary that the standard and quality of our degree should ho maintained; this in tho present building is quite impossible. _ To make room for more dental operating chairs our museum has been swept away, and our specimens and teaching models are no longer available for teaching purposes. Dentists from all over New Zealand are continually sending in valuable specimens, but I have nowhere to put them. There is no storage accommodation for all tho common articles of evory-day use. Apart from the enormous inconvenience of this, much money might be saved by buying goods in larger quantities if we had room for storage. The laboratory where I am supposed to teach dental histology and pathology will only accommodate a quarter of my classes at one time. The overcrowding in the anrcsthetic department is still acute, and tho atmosphere becomes extremely vitiated. For" four years Mr Davies and I have been reporting as strongly as possible on the extremely inadequate recovery room accommodation. One room 9ft x 6ft has to servo for all female patients, and as a cloak room for four nurses and all tho women students. One other room equally small has two couches in it, and often these have to be occupied by opposite sexes. The temporary additions _ which are now under consideration will not in any way relieve tho congestion mentioned above. The new regulations of tho General Medical Council como into operation in 1923. The adoption of these will probably necessitate a five years’ course. Amongst other things the General Medical Council requires 2,000 hours to bo spent in studying mechanical dentistry. This will still further increase tho congestion in the mechanical department; in fact, it_ is impossible to carry out this regulation with tho space at present at our disposal. . . Dr Pickerill added tho opinions of various gentlemen who had acted recently as external examiners, > They expressed amazement at the conditions, and one of them wrote: —

The school is absolutely fossilised. There is neither room nor equipment for more, than twenty-five students. Tho mechanical room is a disgrace. What appliances I saw there should have been scrapped long ago. How anyone could do justice to the students under tho present conditions I do not know, and it is not fair to the students. THE DISCUSSION.

'When tho report carac before tho council Mr T, K. Sicley (V ioe-Chancellor) said ho could not let it go past without remark, lie did not absolve the council from some oversight concerning the in utter. There had been a time when they prepared a complete statement oi what were supposed ‘to ho tho needs of the University, and tho Dental S< hool was not included.

Mr Stephens: That was the director’s fault.

Mr Fidoy said lie did not know whose fault it was. With the addition of twenty-live now students tho position had become eputo hopeless. It had boon suggested that the fact that they put so many claims before the Government at once was responsible for them getting nothing. Ho did not say that they had asked too much. The Medical and Dental Schools wore national institutions. Their immediate requirements would nm into £75,000 or £IOO,OOO, and ho understood that tho Government’s commitments to Auckland were in excess of that amount. Hat if they were to suffer because they were asking too much, then it was time that they formulated what they considered wore the most urgent requirements of the University. In view- of the possibility of a visit from the Prime Minister ho would move that a committee bo sot up accordingly. Mr J. Rennie, who had paid a visit to the school, said the conditions were certainly not creditable to them, to put it mildly. lie declared that_ the staff and students wore simply pigging it. Tho congestion was deplorable, and it was a marvel to him that they were able to do such pood work as they were doing. Ho added that they wore not doing the fair thing by the students, and that tho waiting and recovery accommodation were not decent —were downright disgusting. Air L. D. Ritchie said ho would not like it to go out that tho council had just awakened to the state of affairs. Mr Rennie asked what it had done.

Tho Chancellor (Dr Andrew Cameron) said that two years ago plans for tho Dental School had been drawn up and approved by "Wellington. Thou came the slump. When tho extensions wore made they hoped that it would tide them over tho difficulty, hut tho increase in tho number of students had boon altogether unexpected. Dr Marshall Macdonald said ho did not think they wore giving the students a fair run. They had not given tho Dental School tho same chance that it would have had if there had been someone on the council with special interest in it. Ho agreed that certain conditions at the school mentioned by Mr Rennie were shocking. Dr Fitzgerald said the Government was pledged to see tho Medical School through first. It was a question whether that fncn!ty ; should not forgo any promises of priority it had obtained in order to give the Dental School relief. He agreed that the present conditions were not fair to tho students.

Dr Linda Ferguson argued that the Medical School had been waiting a much longer time than the Dental School, and that extensions were required because of the recent demands of the General Medical Council. Mr W. J. Morrell held they could quite logically review the position in the light of changed conditions, and might decide that the Dental School extensions were the most urgent. Mr Sidey’s motion was then carried, the deans of the medical and arts faculties and tho chairmen of committees being appointed the committee.