CORONATION HOSPITAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16568, 4 June 1914, Page 11

CORONATION HOSPITAL.

OFFICIAL OPENING. SPEECH BY MINISTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH. The King George V. Coronation Hospital, intended for the reception of advanced cases of consumption, and erected near the Cashmere Hills Consumptive Sanatorium, at a cost of over £15,000, was officially opened yesterday afternoon by the Hon 1?. H. Rhodes, Miuister of Public Health. The. weather was extremely wet, but despite this fact there was a very largo attendance. Speeches were delivered on a verandah sheltered from the rain. The chairman of the North Canterbury Hospital Board (Mr F. Horrelb presided, and with him on the platform Avero the Hon R. H. Rhodes, Bishop Julius, Bishop Grimes, the Hon H. F. Wigram, M.L.C., the Rev Father Price, Mr T. H. Davey, M.P.. Mr H. Holland (Mayor of Chfistchurch), Mr J. R. Webb (Mayor of Lytteltpn), Mr H. R. Smith (treasurer of the Coronation Hospital Fund), Mr J. Graham (Mayor of Woolston), Dr Blackmore (medical superintendent, Consumptive Sanatorium). Mr R. Moore (chairman Lyttelton Harbour Board), members of the City Council and Hospital Board, and other representatives of local bodies. Bishop Julius opened the proceedings with prayer, after which a verse of the i National Anthem was sung. The chairman, ■in his opening remarks, said that the form which the memorial of King George's Coronation had taken in Canterbury was a tribute to the high ideals that animated this community. There could be no higher i or nobler work than the alleviation of 1 sickness and distress. The- building ; that was to bo opened that day had cost £10,450, and with its equipment had cost over £15,000. Of this amount £4159 had been subscribed by the people of Canterbury. £4590 was given by the Government by way of subsidy, and the rest had been made, up out of rates and subsidies. ■ '."''. The chairman said that it was with very great pleasure and thankfulness that he was present at the culmination of the wishes of those ladies and gentlemen who three years ago worked so strenuously to provide a fitting memorial of the coronation of King George. That the memorial should have taken its. present form ~ showed with what high'ideals those responsible approached their task. There could be no nobler service than the alleviation of human suffering and no greater work than the protection of the public health so as to prevent those ills which necessitated the erection of such buildings as this for their amelioration. No doubt the subscribers to the fund for this building felt that much time had elapsed in bringing their wishes to fruition; but that was unavoidable. The consideration of tho plans alone took months. Tho money was collected in 1911; and a tender was accepted in October, 1912, the price being £10,450. But before the builder couid get to work a contract for levelling and excavating the site had to be completed. It was not until the end of 1912 that Mi* Taylor, tho contractor, could really get to work. Tho foundation stone was laid by his Excellency the Governor in January, 1913; and now in June, 1914, they wore able to say that everything was really complete. It afforded the; Board much pleasure; to;.be able to. invite the subscribers and public generally to" be present at the opening ceremony for which they had been fortunately able to secure the assistance of the Hon R. H. Rhodes, Minister in charge of Hospitals and Public Health The building and equipment, with drainage and laying out the site had cost over £15,000,. of which sum £4159 was subscribed'by the- public and;&499o came from subsidy, the balance being paid out of rates and subsidy. There was reason to be proud of the North Canterbury community inasmuch as there was no word of complaint at the cost entailed in maintaining such institutions as this. No matter what further expense .the Board had .to provide/for he was therohiwould .be no dissent in, the district,.provided that it was in the direction of helping sufferers or in combating disease. They had been singularly fortunate in being able to secure the attendance that day of tho Mayor and the Hon H. F. Wigram, who had both striven very hard to make the Coronation Memorial.fund a success. (Applause.) '■■ '■-'■-• ''• An apology for absence from Dr J. A. Valintine (Inspector-General of Hospitals) was road.

The Mayor of Christchnrch (Mr H. Holland) briefly recounted the steps which had been taken to bring about the construction _of the new hospital, and expressed his gratification, as a member of the. committee, at the "suc-cessful-completion ! 'of the work. The people of Christchurch and of Cantorbury were to be congratulated upon the establishment in their midst of such a testimony to their humanity and kindliness. They were glad to have a representative of the Government amongst them that day, for the Government had been bled very, freely in connection-jwith this hospital. The. speaker and othe's intended to bleed the Government still further a little later on in connection with a home for consumptive children. The committee in charge of the fund for this hospital at first aimed only at the collection of £3000; and at the inception of the movement there was no idea that the work \ would ultimately assumo its present, magnitude. The result, was especially pleasing to all members of the committee. Bishop Grimes said that at a church congress he had attended at Brussels he had been particularly impressed by the utterance of a speaker who said that to help the distressed and suffering and to speak comforting words to the sorrowful was not only a duty but a high privilege. Those who had been responsible for the establishment of the hospital to be opened that day must have been actuated by the same sentiment. It was fitting that they should have on the platform as representative of the Government. a member of a family whose name would always beinseparably connected with the Rhodes Convalescent Home. (Applause.) The Bishop went on to refer to the various charitable and hospital institutions established in the city by various denominations, and humanity and sympathy manifested in this Christian community with the callousness and indifference of the pagan nrnrld (Applause.) W °The Hon P H. F Wigram said that I ' i oo ked upon the institution that was to be opened that day as one of th o blockhouses erected against conBiimption. It was the of the Rind in Canterbury, and a very neceseorv second, for it would take in its charge cases which could not possibly £„ dpalt with in the sanatorium further xv» hill It was proposed eventuU L to have three of these blockhouses, ?l ly third being an institution for ft,S afflictnd V heredity, or by ch,l r «L, -AH three: would ho estab- 1 ?-°EThv"voluntary contributions from lL rwerbury settlers, with, of course, the speaker Governmenti snog hB(J . nOW come ! when felt tha l-2lßeformer 8 , Liberals and all P a ™f_should unite in asking the tflke . np & na tional Government ; t consl]mpbioil> T]ley crusaao B »£ nt o ther nations were donftd Bee JL Panama Canal zone was i n #\ J finar of disease by modern rendered clear they medical B V nsu mption was a preventthat even ct» t ] le n id of modern able, disease. . consum ption could be medical sew noar ly exterminated, exterminatea & greflf . dca] of moneyj Xt would «P=' ~ De an enormous saving but there worn , Q t]lQ »in vaiun

while the expenditure caused by sickness might lie avoided and an untold amount of misery and care obviated. Tho Government would gain the support of all parties if it took a crusade of this sort in hand. When the speaker referred to blockhouses he was thinking of tho South African war—a guerilla war. The war against consumption was essentially a guerilla war, us it had to bo conducted in widely scattered localities, and tho Government was obviously the proper party to conduct it. Tho Government had good generals at its disposal, Dr Blackmore and others, who might be depended upon to give tho Government the best assistance possible in the crusade. (Applause.) Dr Blackmnro said that Christchurch might feel justifiably proud of its record in the matter of providing for the treatment df consumptive patients. Four years ago there were -no institutions in Canterbury for the solo treatment of consumption, but today there was a sanatorium with sixtytwo beds, a hospital for advanced cases with forty-four beds, and a tuberculosis dispensary which dealt with 1.30 or 140 out-patients. The motto of the institution that was to be opened, that day would not bo "Abandon hope all ye who enter here." There was no such tiling in tho world as a hospital for incurable consumptives, for the primary reason that it was impossible to say whether a case of consumption was curable or not. This hospital would deal with advanced cases, but its atmosphere would be c.llO of cheerfulness and hope. In withdrawing these advanced cases from contact with tho rest of tho community this now institution would not only help the patients themselves, but would remove a source of grave danger to the rest of the community. This institution would do more than any yet established to cope with the spread of consumption, but at-the same tirao tho necessity that existed for so large an institution war,, somewhat of a reproach to the community. There bad been neglect in the past, but the.present institution would do much to atone for that neglect. The ir.-.-titu-tiou was much needed. There would, be thirty patients in residence by the end of tie week. Ha hoped, however, that this institution would be regarded as merely a temporary one, and would in time make room for another. Tho chairman said that before the Minister declared the institution open ho desired.to thank him very heartily, on behalf of the North Canterbury Hospital Board, for tho kindness aid courtesy lie had always shown _to tho Board, and the valuable assistance the Government had given the Board in its work. He handed tho Minister a golden key, the gift of tho contractor (Mr Taylor), as a souvenir of tho occasion. The Hon R. H. Rhodes, Minister of Pnblio Health and Hospitals said:- " It is but right that this institution, erected through tho generosity of tho people of North Canterbury, should bo associated with the name of the son of our late King. Most of you are aware of the groat interest King Edward took in "the campaign against consumption, which culminated in tho erection of a magnificent sanatorium on the South Downs of England—an institution which will bo known for all time as tho King's Sanatorium. To King Edward can also be attributed a maxim on tuberculosis which wo may take to heart, for, in discussing this disease and the means of preventing it, he said, 'lf preventable, why not prevent?' We have had ample evidefico'thnt the good work, of our late beloved Sovereign in the direction'of alleviating tho sufferings of the afflicted is being furthered in every way possible by his august son. It is fitting, therefore, that this institution, initiated at tho time of bis coronation, and now completed, should bear for all time the name of his Majesty King 'George V. '•' It may lie opportune on an occasion like this to- review the measures that have been taken to prevent consumption in this country, and to consider how tho means of prevention can be organised. "Those who have studied the subject at all must realise that during'the past tenyears a great deal has ,been done in tnat direction, and I believe I am right in saying that no other country has so large a proportion of beds available for tho special treatment of the disease. Besides the four principal sanatoria of tho dominion containing some 220 beds, there are some 150 beds available in annexes attached to our general hospitals, but in a campaign of this nature tho actual bods available aro of little value unless thoso in authority have tho assistance and the cooperation of an educated public and the organisation on uniform lines against the ravages of our common enemy. " The public of the dominion have been educated as to the preventive measures necessary, but in connection with this, I may bo forgiven for adding a word of caution, there being still too much tendency on the port of a certain section of tho public to regard tho consumptive as a person to be avoided and generally to be treated as a pariah of society. Nothing, I assure you ladies and gentlemen could be more unreasonable, nothing more cruel. The infectivity of consumption, so I understand, has been very much exaggerated, and I regret that such a misunderstanding on the part of the public has not only led to great injustice to the persons concerned but has also militated largely against many of tho administrative measures that are considnecessary. _• For example, an outcry, is. often raised when any provision is made for consumptives in our general hospitals, or indeed by certain persons when a proposal is made to establish, a sanatorium in any particular locality. Such objections aro not justified either by reason or faot. "-Dr Bosanquet, a recognised authority on this disease in the United Kingdom, has recently commented on this fact, and deplored the distorted view that a certain section of tho public possesses with regard to tho infectivitv of the disease.

"t would implore the public of Kow Zealand to look on tho question of eonsumption in a thoroughly public spirited manner,, and bo content to abide by the decision of tho authorities as to tho best moans of accommodating tho unfortunates who are stricken. I feel sure that the average man and womau does not wish by any means to render harder and more difficult.the lot of thoso unfortunates, and I may say here that tho proposal of-those timorous persons to the effect that all consumptives should be segregated and kept entirely l apart from tho rest of the population, is neither necessary nor justifiable by the dictates of our modern knowledge of the disease. "Wo havo now to review tho measures that aro necessary to conduct the campaign against consumption, and .in this connection it must be remember--1 ed that thero are at least throe classes of consumptives with whom we have to deal, viz., those who may with safety be treated in their own homes, those who may be treated in annexes attached to o'no of our general hospitals, and thoso who may bo treated in sanatoria. Now, from information that I have to hand it would appeal that a great many consumptives may with advantage be treated in their own homes, provided that there is proper accommodation and that suitable medical and nursing aid is available. For such sufferers the Department proposes to provide special tents which will be lent to such persons free of cost, but these tents will be allowed to peisous in those districts only where the Hospital Boards have provided a medwnl and nursing service to look after w'e orients. This provision could easily be undertake hi this district where an I excellent medical and nursintf service

is available under the able administration of Dr Blackmore. Thoso cases which in the opinion of tho authorities crnnot be treated at homo must bo sent to annexes attached to our general hospitals until such time as they can be admitted, if desirable, to one of the four sanatoria of tho dominion. ' ; I have already stated that there aro some 220 beds available in these ! sanatoria I—a 1 —a larger proportion of beds for this purpose than is provided in any other country in tho world. '•' It has been proposed to increase tho accommodation in theso sanatoria bus : with tho exception of two sanatoria to wit, Te Waikato and tho North Canterbury, it is not proposed to make any great extension in the number of beds. Everything points to the fact that it is bettor to have a few well equipped sanatoria with a large number of 4>eds. say from 150 to 200, than to havo several institutions of from thirty to forty bods dotted over tho dominion. No sanatorium can be regarded as efficient which has not a resident medical officer. As regards consumptive sanatoria, therefore, tho policy of the Public Health Department will be to limit rather than to extend the number of thoso institutions by increasing the accommodation in those institutions which are best fulfilling the purpose for which they wore initiated. ••It is to be hoped that the Hospital Boards of tho dominion will combine for the purpose of maintaining those institutions which aro giving tho best facilities for tho treatment of tho disease and not erect additional institutions which would be comparatively costly and not likely to be in the best interests of tho dominion. I may also say that it is proposed to attach to our larger sanatoria farm colonies for tho accommodation of persons who, though cured of the disease, aro not sufficiently well "to return to, their ordinary occupations. In these farm colonics patients will bo taught outdoor pursuits such as poultry and beo farming, horticulture and other industries that may bo carried on in tho open air. Though there is much argument for theso farm colonies being separate from tho sanatoria, tho opinion of experts is to the effect that it would be wiser to havo them in close touch with the sanatoria, so that the patients can bo under a certain amount of medical supervision. In one or two cases this will necessitate the acquirement of additional land in the neighbourhood of our existing sanatoria. " I should have mentioned that during the past year the Government has engaged tho services of Dr Bernstein, who has had special experience in the treatment of the disease and who has been attached to one of the best-recog-nised institutions for the treatment of consumption in tho United Kingdom. Moreover, Dr Bernstein has been intimately associated with the work of a medical officer who has made for him\«elf a great name in connection with tho administrative control of consumption. I refer to Dr Patterson, lately medical superintendent of the Frimley Sanatorium, but who is now director of the tuberculosis campaign in Wales. One of tho great features of Dr Patterson's work has been and is the employment of sanatorium patients. A great many of these patients can with advantage to themselves carry out light work under careful medical supervision, and tho records of the institution under Dr Patterson's control amply justify similar measures being adopted in. tho sanatoria of this dominion. In this connection I trust that no false sentiment on the part of the publio will handicap tho work of these medical of- j ficers to whom is entrusted tho treatment of our consumptives. Great work in this direction is now being done by the esteemed medical superintendent of the North Canterbury Sanatorium, Dr Blackmore. and also by Dr Bernstein at To Waikato, but the success of the campaign against the disca.se does not lie as I have already indicated, in the provision of beds at sanatoria. The Rcrret of success lies rather in encouraging the patients to seek treatment in the early stages of tho disease. For this purpose tuberculosis dispensaries have been initiated in three of our larger centres, and they are about to bo initiated in other places in the dominion, and if it be possible to obtain, as I have mentioned, the early cases of the disease for treatment, on© of the greatest of blows will be struck ! in the common good. I

In addition to the measures outlined, you aro no doubt awaro that pamphlets and periodicals on the disease havo been distributed throughout tho dominion and a tuberculosis exhibition is about to be initiated in Dunedin. In this connection I would take the opportunity of thanking publicly the Otago branch of the British Medical Association for the pamphlets it has issued on the history and nature of the diseased On other occasions I have referred to the educative part played by the proprietors of tho " Otago Witness ' and by the Press of the _ do- | minion generally in publishing articles on tuberculosis." My Department feels that it has many willing and enthusiastic allies in tho campaign on which it has embarked, and" it hopes that during the ensuing year it will bo possible to arouse still further the interest of tho public by means of lee- . tures given in various centres. Speakr | ing generally, the Hospital Boards of I the dominion are co-operating with the j Public Health Department, and the question of giving more assistance than , that now given bv the ordinary fttatu- • tory subsidies with lvgard to the many measures that may be thought necessary will havo the earnest consideration of the Government. I might here mention that the officers of tho Agricul- ' tural Department are taking steps to I eradicato tho disease amongst stock, and generally to lessen the danger of j trannr/ssion of tubwoulosis by milk ami k meai.

' "I think it can be safely said that this little country is doing more than any other country in tho world in I the direction of eradicating tubercuI losis. Tho public is well educated on 1 the subject; tho Hospital Boards are prepared to do what is reasonable, and the Government is alive to the tremendous economical waste occasioned by this fell disease. "In conclusion, I can say with the greatest confidence that of all Hospital oards in the dominion the North Canterbury Board has taken tho van in the campaign against tuberculosis. No other Board in the dominion is so complete with regard to its equipment and details for carrying out a successful campaign, and _by the provison, through the generosity of the people of Canterbury, of this splendid institution another powerful gun is about to 1)0 trained on a persistent and relentless enemy. " I congratulate the people of Canterbury and' the people of the dominion on this magnificent addition to their public institutions, but I will not let this opportunity pass without reminding them that an institution referred to by Dr Blackmore in his remarks at the laying of the foundation stone of this building is now ,in a fair way of becoming an established fact. I refer, of course, to the proposed Ooen-air Home for Children. I congratulate Miss Rochfort, his Worship the Mayor and those other ladies and gentlemen who, with them, have initiated the scheme, and I hope soon to see their efforts crowned with success. "I have pleasure in now formally declaring this hospital open." _ After the ceremony the Minister and the other guests were conducted through the new hospital by Dr Blackmore, after which- afternoon tea was dispensed.