“TERRIBLE MISTAKE”

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLIII, Issue 20680, 19 March 1937, Page 8

“TERRIBLE MISTAKE”

REOPENING OF TUBERCULOSIS PAVILION Bj Telegraph—Prese Asaodatton INVERCARGILL, March 18. Strong objection to the reopening of the tuberculosis pavilion at the Kew Hospital was made by Mr W. M. Norman at the monthly meeting of the Southland Hospital Board to-day. To reopen the pavilion would be a terrible mistake, he said, and he was determined to vote against such a move. “The time has arrived when we should build an Institution of our own,” Mr Norman said. “It has been said that the Queenstown people would object to the institution being establishes there, but I have discussed the matter with prominent citizens of Queenstown and I am informed that there would be no objection to such a step being taken. Wealthy peop’e who suffer from tuberculosis go to live in Queenstown and do well. Why should not poor people have the same advantages?” The chairman (Mr T. Golden) said that the Kew Institution had been closed because there were not sufficient patients going there to warrant it being kept open. He would admit that Kew was not in his opinion a suitable place to send tubercular patients, but Mr Norman was opening up a big question when he suggested sending them to Queenstown. Mr Norman: Whatever you say it all comes down to this: Send patients away to a better climate and they improve. Send them to Kew and they go bad; in condition. The meeting went into committee to hear Dr. J. A. Pottlnger's views on the subject.

The decision reached during the discussion in committee was not confirmed in open board, the chairman remarking: “There was no business done. We had a very interesting discussion.”