Treatment Of Cripples

Northern Advocate, 11 January 1938, Page 4

Treatment Of Cripples

IN THE absence of fuller information than that which is at present available, the statement made yesterday by a member of the Whangarei Hospital Board that “the Wilson Home is

not much of a catch,” will be endorsed by many Northlanders. The board had previously expressed dissatisfaction that children from the Whangarei district were not receiving adquate consideration for admission to the home.

The Auckland Hospital Board is not only meeting the actual cost of running the home, but is also providing capital of £7OOO to £BOOO in order to give adequate treatment facilities for postinfantile paralysis sufferers.

Considering the liberal benefaction and the amount of public support accorded to the appeal issued by the Crippled Children’s Society, it is rather surprising to learn that the estimated charge for treatment in the homo is as high as 16s. per day.

Notification was received yesterday that the Whangarei board should charge its patients 10s. per day for treatment at the home and carry the difference of 6s. per day itself, as is done by the Auckland board with cases from its ora district.

Special treatment for paralysis cases, is, admittedly requisite, but the processes adopted must he very costly to justify a charge which is very high when compared with maintenance costs for patients in our general hospitals.

The chairman of the Whangarei board has been unable as yet to accept an invitation to attend a meeting of the Wilson Home Executive, but a great deal of correspondence has been received on the subject. An alternative suggestion made yesterday by Mr J. A. S. Mac Kay should be acted upon.

Mr Mac Kay suggested the obtaining from the medical superintendent of a statement as to whether or not patients, for whom, normally, admission would he sought at the Wilson Home, could he treated in Whangarei. It is understood that the facilities at 4j ie Whangarei Hospital are adequate for the treatment of such cases, with the exception of a small swimming bath, in which children are placed in order to allow them to gain confidence in the use of their legs, buoyed up by the water.

Should this be the ease the capital cost should not be great