SITE FOR SANATORIUM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20521, 24 March 1930, Page 11

SITE FOR SANATORIUM.

v .TUBERCULOSIS CASES* r ALPINE HOSPITAL SUGGESTED, DISCUSSION IN CHRISTCHURCH* [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] CHRISTCHURCH. Saturday. Mainly on the grounds that no data as to wind, sunlight, and humidity are avail-able,-and that the expense would not be commensurate with results, two Christchurch specialists in tuberculosis stated that a proposal that surgical tuberculosis patients should be accommodated in an institution situated in the Alps would ba economically unsound.

The transport of supplies was also said to be an almost insurmountable problem, and it was remarked that New Zealand could in no way be compared with Switzerland in the treatment of the disease, on account of the huge difference in tha

population. - The treatment of surgical cases of tuberculosis, not at the general hospital as at present, but in a special building to be erected in the grounds of the Cashmere Sanatoria, is now being considered by tllß North Canterbury Hospital Board, and is in the committee stage. The board will probably discuss it on Wednesday. An Expensive Proposition. "J do not think that the climatic conditions in the Alps are properly understood by anybody," said Dr. I. C. Macintyre, medical director of tuberculosis institutions. "We have no evidence that* they are so much ljetter than at Cashmere. I would not care to say definitely that they are not superior to Cashmere, but so far we possess no concrete information upon which to base an opinion. The establishment of an institution in the Alps, to accommodate the small number of patients we have here, would be a very expensive proposition indeed.

"It is hardly fair to make a comparison with Dr. Rollier's institution at Leysin, in Switzerland, for he has 2000 beds and draws his patients from all over Europe and America. Here we draw from a very small population, and would not Lave more than 50 cases at the mosti To my mind the scheme is not practical, and I doubt if it is warranted.

"No doubt a better situation than Cashmere could be found, but Cashmere has its advantages, being near the city and handy to relatives and friends who desire to visit patients." Sunshine a Factor. Mr. A. T. Smith, chairman of the health committee of the North Canterbury Hospital Boax'd, was diffident about expressing an opinion, but. stated that the committee had had a good deal of data before it, and it seemed to be the general opinion that as much sunshine as possible was the most necessary factor, wherever the site might be. The whole thing, he said, was still in the "committee stage," and would be discussed by the Hospital Board in open meeting on Wednesday next

"As I am "a member of the Hospital Board I cannot make any comment, at this stage," said Dr. H. T. D. Acland. 'No doubt the whale question will be discussed at the next meeting of the board.'' "Communication with the Alps is by Porter's Pass, where the road, at certain times, is snowbound, or by the Rakaia Gorge, and that limits the means of getting to the district," said another Christchurch doctor. "In Switzerland the country is settled, and the patients go to Leysin from all over America and Europe. Then there is the problem of transporting supplies to an institution in the Alpine district. That would be difficult, if not impossible, to solve. Prevailing Wet Wind.

"We do not know enough about the Alpine climate to be able to recommend the erection of a large institution in those parts. We know that the prevailing wind is from the north-west; moreover, it is a wet wind. The selection of sites must be limited to the few avenues of . approach, and the number of patients available must bear upon the question. At the most there would be 20 or 30 patients, and that number would not warrant the great expense of an Alpine hospital. "There is already a tuberculosis institution in existpsce-, and no matter what organ the disease attacks,- the disease is on© and the same. The most sensible way is to house the patients together if they can be treated properly. If Cashmere is suitable for lung treatment there is no reason why' it should, be unsuitable for any other form of tuberculosis. The winds of New Zealand make the selection of a site for heliotherapy extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible. Years ago an Alpine site was considered, but it was found to be too expensive, and Cashmere was chosen. I cannot see that a change would be economically sound."