CONSUMPTIVE SANATORIA.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19980, 23 December 1926, Page 12

CONSUMPTIVE SANATORIA.

NORTH AND SOUTH ISLANDS. AN ANOMALOUS POSITION. (Special to Daili Times.) CHRISTCHURCH, December 22. “The Cashmere Sanitona are the Mecca to which all tuberculosis sufferers are travelling because we have specialised ui the treatment of tuberculosis in Cantei bury. We have been placed in a position that the ratepayers are bearing an unfair financial burden We want this removed by having the disease treated on a national basis.” These remarks were made by Mr W. E. Leadley at the meet™<r of Y the North Canterbury Hospital Board to-day after receipt of a comprehensive report upon tuberculosis generally from Dr G. J. Bla- .more, medical director of tuberculosis institutions. ihc board decided to forward a copy of the report to all hospital boards, and to request the Hospital Boards’ Association to Jiold a special conference of representatives ot boards with tuberculosis experts the day prior to the Hospital Boards Conference, to consider the whole question of the treatment of tuberculosis in New Zealand, taking Dr Blackmore’s report as a basis ot discussion and consideration. ' Mr Leadley . said that in the North Island there were two tuberculosis sanitoria both of which were conducted by the Government, and their maintenance cost came from, the Consolidated Fund, in the South Island there were three eamtoria, all under the care of hospital boards, ihis meant that ratepayers in the South Island were not only supporting the southern samtoria through direct taxation, but also the northern institutions through the indirect means of Customs taxation and income tax, which went to the consolidated revenue This was not fair, and trio south should urge that the northern people should be made to bear their share of the financial burden. This state of affairs had been brought about, continued Mr Leadley, by the southern hospital boards being energetic in tbeir efforts to counteract tuberculosis. In the north the Wellington Hospital Board was the only one which had done anything. Last year it had spent f 7500 on tuberculosis, compared with £40,880 in Canterbury. In contrast with this, there were more cases of tuberculosis reported in the north than in the south for the year ended March 31, 1920. Mr Leadley added that Dr Blackmore’s work at the Cashmere Sanatorium had been excellent. In the years from 1923 to 1926 (inclusive) there had been over 50 per cent, of the cases arrested. Of 290 persons treated, 203 had been discharged, and orfly seven had died.