CEREBRAL PALSY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27443, 17 July 1950, Page 4

CEREBRAL PALSY

Care Of Children MINISTER OUTLINES PLANS PA WELLINGTON, July 15. “Day schools for certain cerebral palsied children are to be commenced in Wellington and Auckland as soon as suitable premises are obtainable,” said the Minister of Health, Mr Walts today. “Already Dunedin and Christchurch have taken steps to set up small training schools.” Mr Watts was reviewing the Government’s policy in dealing with the care of such children. He paid a tribute to the work of the Crippled Children Society and recalled that after the visit of Dr Earl Carlson in 1948 a plan was drawn up for progress in the field of remedial treatment. Conferences had been held between representatives of the health and education departments and the Crippled Children Society while Dr G. A. G. Lennane, who was brought to New Zealand two years ago as director of physical medicine to take charge of the hospital for physical disorders now known as the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Rotorua, had conducted clinics to assess the educability of cerebal palsied children.

Mr Watts said it had now been arranged that Dr Lennane would go to Christchurch shortly to investigate the work which had been done there by the Canterbury Education Board in its Gloucester- street school. After this visit, a recommendation would be made to the Government on the methods for the education' and remedial treatment for such children. It was considered that the first step should be the establishment of day nurseries in the four main centres with properly trained staff. Attention could next be given to residential nurseries. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital at Rotorua would also be altered to receive about 30 patients and as soon as this work was done and the necessary staff available, patients would be admitted for three months for diagnosis and prognosis. Suitable cases would be retained longer but others would be returned to their homes.

At Rotorua, the Minister said, training would be given by physiotherapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists in the treatment 9f this disease so they could be utilised in other parts of New Zealand. One team consisting of a physiotherapist, an occupational therapist and a speech therapist had already been approved for overseas training. These people would later train others at Rotorua. Mr Watts said it was felt that the Crippled Children Society could best continue as the guilding force and that there was no need for the establishment of a national council for spastic welfare as had been suggested. He stressed the importance of diagnosis and treatment in cases Gf cerebral palsy, adding that it was unfortunately true that even with time and patience only a proportion of the sufferers could benefit from specialist care.