HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

Evening Star, Issue 22069, 1 July 1935, Page 11

HEALTH ADMINISTRATION

DISTRICT OFFICE IN WAIKATO NOW [Per United Press Association.) HAMILTON, July 1. Important changes in the administration of the Health Department in the Waikato were announced by Sir A Young (Minister of Health) yesterday. He stated that, following the success of a similar scheme in other districts, it had been decided to establish a district health office at Hamilton under the direction of a medical officer, Colonel F. W. W. Dawson, of Christchurch, being appointed do the position. Sir Alexander stated that for a lew years past he had felt that in the large rural areas, more particularly those carrying a large Maori population, the method of health and hygiene .administration could be improved upon from the aspects of the efficiency of the service to the population concerned. As an experiment a change was adopted in the East Coast, Poverty Bay district. It worked very effectively, and had fully met his anticipations, with the result that similar schemes had been introduced in the Taranaki and North Auckland districts. The principle had been to select a suitable area and place it under the control of a medical officer who, together with a staff of inspectors and nurses, undertook within the area the whole of the public health functions of tho department. Tho system had the merit of bringing the unit of control nearer to the homes of the people concerned, and ensured more direct and continuous personal contact.