DENTAL CLINICS

Stratford Evening Post, Issue 56, 4 May 1928, Page 5

DENTAL CLINICS

TRAINING OF NURSES.

GOVERNMENT'S PROBLEM

Press Association —Copyright. CHRISTCHURCH, Last Night.

"We 'have over 200,000 children in th e primary school.s so ybu can see what the'problem is," said the Minister ■of. Health, the Hon. J. A. Young t replying to a deputation from the Linwood school asking for a dental clinic. ' '

"It requires a staff of approximately 400 nurses who have to be found and trained in New Zealand," continued Mr Young. "We are reaching 40,000 children to-day, and when I came into office we were training 20 nurses a year. "As a result of my representations to the Government the number of trainees has been increased to 35 per year. lam anxious to extend the school dental service as rapidly as possible, as with 80 nurses -in the held we are able to reach only 40,000 children." Mr Young added that there seemed to be an idea that poor people were to be found only in the industrial centres, but he could assure the deputation that in the rural districts of the North Island there were many people genuinely poor, and the department had to do something to meet their requirements. There were already 250 applications for clinics on the department's list.