MATERNITY SERVICES

Te Puke Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 59, 26 July 1938, Page 3

MATERNITY SERVICES

REPORT OF COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY

SPEECH BY MB 0. H BURNETT

LOCAL NEEDS EMPHASISED

In speaking in the House on the 14th inst. during the discussion on the report of the Committee of Inquiry into Maternity Services in the Dominion, Mr C. H. Burnett, member for Tauranga, said he thought the report was of particular value in view of the Government’s social security proposals shortly to come before the House. The question of the care of mothers was not only of great moment from the point of view of giving to them the best and safest maternity benefits, but also because it involved the question of the continuance of our race itself. Turning to matters in the report particularly affecting the Tauranga electorate, Mr Burnett said that in the Tauranga district was a borough with a population of 3387 persons, a rural population of 9571 persons, and a Native population of 2883 persons, making a total of nearly 16,000 people in the Tauranga hospital area. With regard to hospital facilities the report stated, inter alia:

“There is no maternity annexe at the general hospital. The facilities in the town consist of one private hospital with four beds and two midwives’ homes with one bed each. According to the statement of one medical practitioner at least twice this number of beds is required. “Patients who cannot afford the private hospital fees of £4 4s and £5 5s must go to the ten-bed hospital at Te Puke? eighteen miles away. Cases from Katikati, twenty-two miles north of Tauranga, are also obliged to go to Te Puke, passing through Tauranga en route. “Patients residing at Oropi, ten miles from Tauranga, can reach Te Puke district, but the road is so bad that a detour through Tauranga, making a journey of twenty-two miles, is often preferred. Objections are sometimes raised by European patients regarding the large number of Maoris admitted to Te Puke hospital, while accommodation is adequate for the number of cases applying, the difficulties arising from the transport situation are evident.’’

The report pointed out, said Mr Burnett, that there was only one district nurse to give ante-natal supervision, and she found it “impossible to do this adequately among a Maori population of 2883 scattered over an area of eighteen miles in length by fifteen in width, and including two islands.” In its recommendations the Committee stated that it—“favours the erection of a maternity annexe in Tauranga which would also serve the outlying districts of Katikati and Oropi. It is thought that an annexe of six or eight beds would suffice for this purpose. It is recommended that separate ward accommodation be made for Europeans and Maoris, both in this annexe and at Te Puke. In the interests of Maori maternal welfare, the Committee favours the appointment of a second district nurse for Maoris.” The Tauranga representatives also asked for the institution of a nursery at Tauranga. Mr Burnett emphasised the fact that there was only one district nurse for the large Native population, and he commended the recommendation of the Committee for the appointment of a second district nurse to the minister. There were difficulties in regard to training the necessary nurses, but in the interests of the Native race, more should be done in that connection. The Whakatane district, with which he was also closely connected, had a borough population of 1733 persons, a rural population of 9667 and a Native district population of 4153, and no ambulance facilities existed at Whakatane at all. There was a very excellent St. John Ambulance service at Tauranga, and he thanked the Minister for the assistance he had given Tauranga in connection with that service. However, Whakatane, with a population of nearly 16,000 people had no such facilities, and ■ there had been very serious cases of typhoid 'in outlying areas. He had endeavoured to interest the local body authorities regarding the problem of providing facilities for conveying patients to the Whakatane hospital, but they did not seem to be interested. They, seemed to have no available finance, or rather power to grant finance, and the consequence was that the people of that district had no ambulance whatever. There was an excellent general hospital at Tauranga, continued Mr Burnett, and another at Whakatane, but at Whakatane there was maternity accommodation of only thirteen beds. There was no private hospital at Whakatane, but a Native nurse, with a district population of 4,153 Natives. The Committee recommended an extension of district nursing services among the Maoris and suggested that were the benefits of the system afforded to the European residents of outlying districts, this would be of assistance in solving the transport problem. The Committee also reported:—“Hospital accommodation is satisfactory and more than sufficient for the needs of the district. Ante-natal services are good, but transport is a major difficulty to residents of outlying areas who do not possess cars. Much still remains to be done in educating the Maoris regarding the necessities of modern maternal welfare, and for this purpose one district nurse is insufficient.”

With this statement, Said Mr Burnett, he quite concurred. He stressed the importance of doing something in the Bay of Plenty areas in regard to the Native population. There was a very fine population of Maoris, and he was much concerned about the public health of the Natives in his electorate. When they into the public hospitals they had no means to provide for their maintenance, with the result that the expense devolved upon the European population. The report also dealt with Maori maternity services, and said, inter alia: "Contrary to what is widely believed to be the case, childbirth among the Maoris is associated with considerable risks; the death-rate is nearly twice as great as amongst the European population, and disabilities following confinements are far from uncommon. Investigations show that whatever may have been the position when the Maoris lived under their truly Native conditions, septic infection is at the present time the most common cause of death.

This clause would unquestionably be read with concern by every member.

The report also stated: —-“Attendance by the Health Department district nurses to Maoris at the actual confinement in the home is, with few exceptions, limited to assistance in cases where some difficulty has arisen. The limited number of nurses, their large districts, and their manifold duties, makes any other course impossible at the pre-

Even when called to these cases it is often the practice of the nurse to allow the Natives to follow their own method under her supervision, and the introduction of the European technique is only attempted in cases where it is considered definitely necessary. The practical difficulties of applying this technique under Native conditions were stressed by all nurses.”

Then, further on it said:—“ln the Bay of Plenty and Taranaki districts, on the other hand, the hospital provision was not considered adequate. It was suggested that disinclination to enter hospital was often due to a conflict with Maori customs which occurred under these circumstances, but the Committee was convinced, from the experience elsewhere, that, where sympathetic consideration, which is essential, was given to the feelings of the Natives, little difficulty was experienced. It was the general opinion that, in the interests of both Maori and European patients, there were great advantages in having separate wards. In some hospitals the prevalence of septicskin conditions amongst the Maoris was regarded as a potential danger to other patients and was certainly a reason why they were less welcome than would otherwise have befell the case.

Much as one would like to have it arranged otherwise, there were cases where the Natives must be treated separately from the Europeans. In the report would also be found a recommendation dealing with Native housing. In his electorate, said Mr Burnett, this position was very serious indeed, in the Katikati and Te Puke areas particularly, but the Native Department was doing -what it could to deal with the matter. The Government had done a great deal to put the Native housing position on a better basis, but still more required to be done, and he hoped that the Government would continue to pursue its policy of doing everything it could to deal with the various Native problems that confronted it. The question of . housing, said Mr Burnett, interlocked with the problem under discussion.

The question of hospital transport and ambulance facilities were also dealt with in the report, and in a reference to the Whakatane hospital district it stated:—“ln the Bay of Plenty, on the other hand, transport difficulties form a serious bar to patients attending hospitals or clinics, in many cases the only means of transport being a service car passing at rare intervals and often at a considerable distance from the homestead. No ambulance service is maintained by the Hospital Board. At the earliest opportunity he proposed to discuss the matter with the member for Bay of Plenty to see if the Whakatane local bodies coul dbe be persuaded to do something in the direction of instituting an ambulance service in the district. It was important in the interests of public health that the position should be improved. In conclusion, Mr Burnett congratulated the Minister of Health for the initiative he had displayed in bringing the urgency of the problem before the House and the country.